Supreme Court Upholds Pentagon’s Plea Deal With Alleged 9/11 Conspirators
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a challenge by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants seeking to reinstate plea agreements that would have taken the death penalty off the table. The decision leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling that then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had authority to withdraw the deals.
The justices did not explain why they rejected the appeals, as is customary when the Court declines to hear a case. The action leaves the lower court ruling intact but does not amount to a new Supreme Court ruling on every point in its reasoning.
Mohammed, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Walid bin Attash reached agreements with military prosecutors in 2024. They would plead guilty to charges tied to the September 11 attacks in exchange for the government agreeing not to seek execution.
Austin withdrew the agreements two days after they were approved, saying the decision about whether to pursue the death penalty in a case of such gravity should rest with the defense secretary. His intervention triggered a prolonged legal fight over whether he could cancel deals already approved by the Pentagon official overseeing the Guantanamo military commissions.
A military judge initially ruled that Austin lacked authority to rescind the agreements. The U.S. Court of Military Commission Review let that decision stand, but the government appealed. In July 2025, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled for the government, concluding that Austin “indisputably had legal authority to withdraw from the agreements.”
Defense lawyers then asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that Austin’s action violated military law and prolonged a prosecution already delayed for decades. Monday’s decision ends that appeal, leaving prosecutors free to pursue capital charges. It does not guarantee convictions or death sentences; those would depend on the military commission proceedings.
Mohammed is accused of developing and directing the al Qaeda plot to hijack four passenger planes on September 11, 2001. Two struck New York’s World Trade Center, one hit the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks, which led to the U.S. war in Afghanistan and reshaped American national-security policy.
Captured in Pakistan in 2003, Mohammed was held in secret CIA facilities before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006. The case has since been delayed by disputes over classified evidence, the military commission system and statements obtained during CIA interrogations.
The plea agreements divided families of victims. Some opposed removing the possibility of execution; others viewed guilty pleas as a chance to bring the decades-old case closer to resolution. Republican lawmakers also criticized the deals when they were announced in 2024.
A military judge has set the trial for June 2028. Further pretrial disputes could still affect that schedule, and major questions remain about the evidence prosecutors will be permitted to use.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to revive the agreements is a procedural victory for the government. The case now remains on course for trial, where prosecutors will have to prove their charges under the military commission process.