On December 30, 2024, a military appeals court upheld a lower court ruling rejecting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempt to throw out plea deals reached for three men charged in the September 11 terrorism attacks. The court affirmed Judge Colonel Matthew N. McCall’s ruling in November 2024 that the plea agreements reached in July 2024 are valid. Col. McCall stated at the time that he would proceed with the plea hearings.
The three-panel court wrote that they “agree with the military judge that the secretary did not have authority to revoke respondents’ existing [pre-trial agreements] because the respondents had started performance of the [pre-trial agreements].” This ruling allows for the plea deals to move forward and for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi to plead guilty to their involvement in the attacks to avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty. The plea hearing, originally scheduled for January 6, has been postponed until January 10, although prosecutors may ask for additional time to confer with Justice Department lawyers about possibly challenging the plea deal in a federal appeals court.