Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was previously on the Most Wanted Terrorist list. (Mai/Getty Images)
Mohammed, a Pakistani national, is accused of spearheading the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and another commercial jetliner that crashed in Pennsylvania.
Austin said a decision on whether to take the death penalty off the table could only be made by the Secretary of Defense.
However, legal concerns stemmed from whether the original plea deal was legally binding, and if Austin waited too long to get it dismissed.
The court found then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was acting within the bounds of his legal authority. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
Citing previous unlawful influence allegations against various government officials, including the Secretary of Defense, Millett and Rao found that Austin was "reasonable" to withdraw from the agreements to avoid additional litigation.
"Having properly assumed the convening authority, the Secretary determined that the "families and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out," the judges wrote. "The Secretary acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment."
Judge Robert L. Wilkins, in dissent, argued that siding with the government would be an overreach.
"The Court’s holding is stunning," Wilkins wrote. "Not only does the majority believe that Respondents [prosecutors who negotiated the plea deal] did not begin performance, but it holds that the government established a clear and indisputable right to a writ of mandamus or prohibition."
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"It is impossible for me to conclude that the government has shown it is clearly and indisputably entitled to relief," he continued. "That demanding mandamus standard is even further out of the government’s reach where the government cannot cite binding on-point precedent in support of its claims and we are constrained to reviewing for clear error both the Military Judge’s finding that the PTAs encompassed the relevant promises and his application of the withdrawal regulation. But even on de novo review of those findings, the government has not met its burden."
Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation and influence government response.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/court-throws-plea-deal-9-11-mastermind-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-two-other-terrorists