Supreme Court rejects bid to revive 9/11 plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

The Supreme Court on Monday, October 19, declined to review former Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to cancel plea agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants accused of plotting the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, leaving the deals revoked and the long-stalled case headed back to military courts.

In an unsigned order, the justices turned away appeals from Mohammed, Mustafa al Hawsawi and Wali Bin ‘Attash, who argued that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overstepped its authority last year when it sided with the government. Justice Brett Kavanaugh didn’t participate in the consideration of the case.

In 2024, the two agreements made following more than two years of negotiations would have spared the prisoners the death penalty in return for pleading guilty to all counts and undergoing a public sentencing hearing in which the men would answer questions from the victims’ relatives and other survivors. 

The two agreements had been signed off on by military prosecutors and the Defence Department’s top official for Guantanamo Bay before Austin unilaterally cancelled them, declaring that such an important decision "needs to be made by me."

Trump administration continued defending Austin's move.

In 2024, the military judge found that the agreements are “valid and enforceable,” while the military appellate court and subsequently the D.C. Circuit found that it was indisputably within Austin's power to back out of the agreements.