Appeals court skeptical of feds’ bid to back out of 9/11 plea deals
Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overrode plea deals the Pentagon reached with three alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks.
The Department of Justice has argued that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to cancel plea deals. | Efrem Lukatsky/AP
By Josh Gerstein
01/28/2025 12:54 PM EST
A federal appeals court appeared reluctant Tuesday to allow the Pentagon to back out of plea deals that ruled out the death penalty for three alleged plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The arguments before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals featured one of the first high-profile instances where President Donald Trump’s Justice Department backed the Biden administration’s legal claims.
The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard
Both administrations have argued that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to cancel plea deals the self-described mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two co-defendants reached with a subordinate Pentagon official. However, a military commission judge ruled that the agreements were binding on the government and a military appeals court declined to disturb that ruling.
Judges Robert Wilkins and Patricia Millett, both appointees of President Barack Obama, sounded most skeptical Tuesday of the government’s arguments. Judge Neomi Rao seemed less skeptical, but still aired doubts about whether the D.C. Circuit should step in.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/28/9-11-plea-deals-007220
