Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the plea agreements for the 9/11 terrorist attack mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others, and relieved the official in charge of military courts in Guantanamo Bay.
The move puts the possibility of the death penalty back on the table for the trio. It was announced in a memorandum on Friday. In justifying his decision, Lloyd said that the severity of the matter meant that the decision to accept a plea deal should rest with him alone.
“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,” he wrote. “Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense reached a plea deal with Mohammed, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, three men accused of planning the attacks and murdering nearly 3,000 people. The details of the deal weren’t made public.
The deal was met with outrage from Republicans, prompting the White House to distance itself from the decision.
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