U.S. Defense Secretary Revokes 9/11 Plea Deals

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked plea deals agreed to earlier this week with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accomplices, accused of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks. These deals were reportedly in exchange for removing the death penalty. Austin has taken over authority from the Pentagon's Guantanamo war court overseer.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday revoked plea deals agreed to earlier this week with the man accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two accomplices, who are held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Pentagon revealed on Wednesday that the plea deals had been formulated but did not delve into specifics. A U.S. official indicated that the deals almost certainly involved guilty pleas to avoid the death penalty. However, Austin took the significant step of relieving Susan Escallier, who oversees the Pentagon's Guantanamo war court, of her authority in entering such pre-trial agreements. He assumed this responsibility himself.

"Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements...," Austin stated in a memo. This decision followed heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who vehemently opposed the plea deals.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is the most well-known detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, established by President George W. Bush in 2002 to detain foreign militant suspects post the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the deadly plot that killed nearly 3,000 people and led to the U.S. engaging in a protracted two-decade war in Afghanistan.

Similar plea deals had also been arranged for two other detainees: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

(With inputs from agencies.)