Pentagon to appeal ruling that validates plea bargain of alleged 9/11 mastermind
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants agreed to pleas that would spare them the death penalty
The Pentagon will appeal a military judge’s ruling that plea agreements struck to avoid the death penalty for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, and two of his co-defendants are valid, a defense official said on Saturday.
The ruling voids defense secretary Lloyd Austin’s order to revoke the deals and concluded that the plea agreements were valid. The judge granted the three motions to enter guilty pleas and said he would schedule them for a future date to be determined by the military commission.