Supreme Court upholds Pentagon decision to toss plea deal for alleged 9/11 conspirators

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a decision by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to reject plea agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants accused of plotting the 9/11 terror attack.

The decision keeps in place a decision from an appeals court last year that found Austin had the authority to cancel the agreements, which took the death penalty off the table for the three alleged conspirators, CNN reported. 

Monday's decision throws the case back to military courts, which have for years struggled to set a trial as multiple presidential administrations have wrestled with issues involving torture at CIA prisons and whether evidence obtained under such tactics is inadmissible in court. 

Groups representing victims of 9/11 and their families criticized the 2024 agreements, which required the accused to plead guilty to all charges against them and undergo a public sentencing hearing where they'd be required to answer questions from the family members of survivors.  

Austin, who worked for former President Joe Biden, revoked those agreements, arguing that such an important decision should have rested with him. The Trump administration has backed the decision.