--- title: "Defense Secretary Austin rejects 9/11 plotters’ plea deal" description: "The sudden reversal comes only two days after the Pentagon announced the agreement with the three men accused of planning the 9/11 attacks." date: "2024-08-03" modified: "2024-08-03" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/austin-reverse-911-plea-deal/" categories: - "News" tags: - "adsafety" - "justice" - "Terrorism" --- # Defense Secretary Austin rejects 9/11 plotters’ plea deal ![defense secretary lloyd austin]() *Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (Department of Defense)* Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin revoked the [plea deals]() the Department of Defense reached with the accused masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, in a sudden reversal to the news this week in the long running case. On Wednesday, July 31, the Department of Defense announced it had reached pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, all of whom have been in prison in Guantanamo Bay awaiting a military trial that has yet to start. Only two days later on Aug. 2, Austin released a memo saying that he is withdrawing retired Brig. Gen. Susan Escallier’s authority. The memo, addressed to Escalier, who oversees the military court for Guantanamo Bay, says that instead Austin will “reserve such authority to \[himself\].” “\[R\]esponsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin [wrote](). [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.** According to reports, the plea agreement would have seen the three defendants accept life sentences in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. It came after two years of negotiations, according to the New York Times; the negotiations happened after Austin began serving as Secretary of Defense. Per Austin’s reversal, the military is now once again pursuing the death penalty against the three men. Escallier remains in charge of the other military court cases at Guantanamo Bay. The case now remains once again in legal limbo. The defendants’ trial has never started, with the entire matter held up in pre-trial limbo since 2008. That is due to legal fights over whether or not the military’s case against the defendants was valid after the use of torture on them at CIA facilities. Prior to the now-revoked plea agreement, an actual trial was not expected to start prior to 2026, more than two decades after the Sept. 11 attacks. It’s unclear if the previous schedule is still holding. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Marine recruit arrives at boot camp with** [**glorious mop top**]() - **Navy** [**sinks USS Tarawa**]() **in latest Pacific SINKEX** - **A USS Eisenhower pilot became the** [**first American woman**]() **to score air-to-air kill** - [**Special Forces**]() **Assessment and Selection: Everything You Need To Know** - **NORAD sent 3 different fighters to** [**intercept**]() **Russian and Chinese bombers** ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()