Pentagon files appeal to halt Guantanamo Bay plea deals
The department wants federal judges to reinstate the Defense Secretary’s ability to revoke the agreements.
By Paul McLeary and Kyle Cheney
01/07/2025 06:24 PM EST
The Pentagon is asking a federal appeals court to block a military judge’s plan to accept plea deals reached with a 9/11 mastermind and two other defendants in the attacks.
In an emergency filing with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the department — represented by Justice Department attorneys — asked the federal judges to take an extraordinary step and declare that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to revoke the plea agreements can be reinstated.
“That ruling countermands the Secretary’s considered judgment about the appropriate handling of a case of unique national importance,” Brian Fletcher, principal deputy solicitor general, wrote. “Preserving the Secretary of Defense’s authority to make fundamental decisions about the handling of the prosecutions of the individuals allegedly responsible for those attacks is a matter of critical importance warranting the issuance of extraordinary relief.”
Austin withdrew the pre-trial agreements in August made with the defendants, who are all being held in Guantanamo Bay.
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