Defense Secretary Austin Revokes Plea Deal With Accused 9/11 Mastermind, Accomplices

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked a plea deal made earlier this week that would have spared the accused mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his two alleged accomplices the death penalty. In a memorandum addressed to Susan Escallier, the convening authority for military commissions, Austin withdrew her authority to enter into pre-trial agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two of his alleged accomplices. He told her that this authority sits with him. “I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin stated in the memorandum....