Military judge revives plea deal for 9/11 masterminds, despite Lloyd Austin's objections

A military judge on Wednesday ruled that a plea deal the Defense Department made with alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants are legal, the Associated Press reported.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the plea deal in August after uproar. The deal was approved by retired Brig. Gen. Susan K. Escallier. Specifics of the plea deal were never released, but the New York Times previously reported that it removed the possibility of the death penalty. 

An anonymous government official confirmed to the AP that the deal would eliminate the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The deal would be in effect for Mohammed, and co-defendants Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

Further details of the judge's order were not immediately available because Air Force Col. Matthew McCall has not publicly posted or officially announced the ruling. But a report from a legal blog indicated that McCall ruled Austin lacked the authority to reverse the plea deals. 

Prosecutors allege that Mohammad presented the idea of hijacking the planes and flying them into the towers to Osama bin Laden in 1996. Hawsawi has been accused of helping the hijackers with finances and travel arrangements related to the attack, while Attash is accused of providing them with combat training.

Discussions related to the potential plea deal began in 2022, but stalled last year after the Biden administration refused to consider improving the prisoners' living conditions. Some of the conditions the men sought were promises that they would not be held in solitary confinement, access to their lawyers, and more contact with their families.  

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the Pentagon was reviewing the judge's ruling and did not have additional comment.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.