A U.S. military court upheld a previous ruling that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acted improperly in invalidating plea agreements for three men accused of planning the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Court of Military Commission Review found that Austin did not have the authority to rescind the deals negotiated by Susan Escallier, the appointed convening authority. The three-judge panel stated that Austin’s intervention was unprecedented and unjust, as it disrupted ongoing pretrial agreements. The ruling affirmed that the defendants could proceed with their plea deals, which aimed to prevent their receiving the death penalty. The Defense Department did not comment.
