Military judge revives plea deal for 9/11 terrorists

Air Force Col. Matthew McCall ruled on Wednesday that the plea deals brokered with terrorists who planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks remain valid. Although the ruling is not yet public, officials anonymously discussed it with Associated Press reporters. The ruling was also covered by Lawdragon.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had no authority to withdraw from the deal brokered by the official he put in charge of the court, McCall ruled, reportedly. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants this summer agreed to plead guilty to their roles in planning and executing the terror attacks on the condition that the death penalty be removed as a sentencing option. However, Austin made an executive decision to withdraw from the deal later in August. McCall’s ruling will allow the cases to again move toward sentencing.

How does the secretary of defense not have the authority to void the deal? The defense secretary does not have absolute veto power over anything he disagrees with, according to McCall. Overriding the decisions made by officials that Austin himself appointed would not align with the independence that comes with their appointments, McCall reasoned.

The deals were announced in early August and immediately sparked public outrage. Giving plea deals to terrorists is a slap in the face to every family that lost a loved one on 9/11, U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. said at the time.

Dig deeper: Listen to Myrna Brown’s report on The World and Everything in It about the plea deals.