The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled on Friday that the secretary of the Department of Defense “indisputably” has the authority to withdraw from plea deal agreements with three terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks against the United States, clearing the way for the terrorists to potentially be sentenced to the death penalty.
In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit determined that the Department of Defense has the authority to reverse the plea deals made last July by former President Joe Biden’s administration with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
According to Fox News, under the plea deals that were approved by senior Pentagon officials and military lawyers, the three terrorists would have been sentenced to life without parole but would have potentially been protected from the death penalty; however, Friday’s ruling allows the Department of Defense to withdraw from the agreements.
Last August, former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a memorandum, saying, “I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009.”
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The former defense secretary added, “Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pretrial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024.”
According to CNN, a military judge ruled in November that the Biden administration’s plea deal agreements with the three 9/11 terrorists were “valid and enforceable.” The outlet noted that a military appeals court also ruled against Austin’s attempt to withdraw from the plea deals in December.
The Post Millennial reported that President Donald Trump’s administration chose to continue pushing for the plea deals to be withdrawn following the start of Trump’s second term in office in January.
In Friday’s opinion, Judge Patricia Millett and Judge Neomi Rao wrote, “The Secretary of Defense indisputably had legal authority to withdraw from the agreements.”
“Having properly assumed the convening authority, the Secretary determined that the families and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out,” the judges added. “The Secretary acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment.”
