United States: Pentagon appeals court upholds plea deals of 9/11 plotters

The US government may move forward with the controversial plea agreements involving three men accused of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks, following a ruling by a Defence Department appeals court, the Washington Post reported.

The court’s unanimous decision, issued on Monday night, rebuked Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who attempted to block the agreements in August despite their prior approval by a judge overseeing the cases.

The plea deals involve Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and two accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Under the agreements, the men would serve life sentences in exchange for admitting their roles in the al-Qaeda plot that killed 2,977 people.

The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the third plane into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the American military) in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane was intended to hit a federal government building in Washington, DC, but crashed in a field.

Austin had argued that the families of 9/11 victims and those affected by the resulting wars deserved to see the men stand trial.

However, the appeals court ruled that while Austin could limit future pretrial agreements, he did not have the authority to nullify agreements already approved. The court emphasised that the defendants’ admissions of guilt would undermine the possibility of any new trial.

A senior defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Defence Department and Justice Department are reviewing the ruling and exploring options. On Tuesday, the US government filed a motion to delay the plea agreements until January 27 to allow officials time to decide whether to pursue further legal action. A motions hearing in Mohammed’s case is scheduled for January 6.

The appeals court’s ruling upholds an earlier determination by Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, a military commission judge, who found in November that the plea deals are valid and that allowing Austin to rescind them afterward would grant him an “absolute veto over any discretionary act” reached by the officer he had appointed to oversee the cases. The Pentagon appealed that ruling within days, setting the stage for the appeals court to act, according to a report by the Washington Post.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was one of the most high-profile terrorists before he was captured from his hideout in Rawalpindi, Pakistan in March 2003 and later sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The terrorist has remained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba ever since.