The Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up appeals from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants accused of plotting the September 11 attacks, letting stand a ruling that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to cancel their plea agreements and keep the death penalty on the table.
The high court’s decision not to review the case leaves in place a ruling from a federal appeals court that found Austin, who served under President Joe Biden, “indisputably” had the power to revoke the deals. Those agreements, reached in 2024 after more than two years of negotiation, would have taken execution off the table for Mohammed, Mustafa al Hawsawi, and Walid Bin ‘Attash in exchange for guilty pleas and participation in public sentencing hearings where victims’ families could question them directly.
Austin abruptly canceled the agreements, saying such a significant decision “should rest with me.” The Trump administration has continued to defend that call. According to the Supreme Court ruling on 9/11 plea deals, Justice Brett Kavanaugh recused himself from consideration of the case.
In their separate appeals, the three defendants argued that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overstepped its authority when it sided with the government. The Supreme Court’s denial means those arguments go no further in the federal court system.
Steve Vladeck, a CNN legal analyst and professor at Georgetown University Law Center who filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the justices to hear the appeals, said the ruling clears the path for pretrial proceedings to continue. “It would be one thing if a trial were reasonably likely in the near future, but even the current summer 2028 trial date is entirely unrealistic given how many issues remain to be resolved,” Vladeck said.
Trials in the case have dragged on for years as multiple administrations wrestled with how to handle evidence tied to the torture of defendants held in CIA prisons, and whether that evidence could be used in court at all. A military judge ruled in 2024 that the original plea agreements were “valid and enforceable,” but a military appeals court sided with Austin weeks later. The 9/11 plea deals cancellation drew backlash from some groups representing victims and their families when the agreements were first announced.
The case now returns to military courts, which have struggled for years to set a firm trial date. With the 2028 target already considered a long shot by legal observers, it’s unclear when, or whether, the defendants will face a full military tribunal. Share your thoughts on this story in the comments below or on social media.
