Pentagon chief loses bid to reject Sept. 11, 2001, plea deals
LA TimesDefense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had contended that given the gravity of the Sept. 11 attacks, he should decide on any plea agreements that would spare the defendants the possibility of execution. A military appeals court has ruled against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s effort to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a U.S. official said. Supporters of the plea agreements see them as a way of resolving the legally troubled case against the men at the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. He cited the gravity of the Sept. 11 attacks in saying that as Defense secretary, he should decide on any plea agreements that would spare the defendants the possibility of execution.