Guantanamo Trial: Judge Revives Plea Deals for 9/11 Suspects

A military judge has just ruled that plea deals made with three key suspects in the 9/11 attacks are still valid. This includes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is believed to be the mastermind. The judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, made this decision even though the U. S. Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, had tried to cancel these deals. The plea deals were made to avoid the death penalty for Mohammed and his co-defendants, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. The plea deals were a big deal because they could bring this long-running case closer to an end. However, they caused political debates when they became public. The defense secretary's attempt to reverse these deals added to the complexities of the case. The case has had many delays and legal issues, including questions about statements made by defendants who were tortured by the CIA. The Pentagon is reviewing the judge's decision and has no immediate comment. The judge's ruling says that the defense secretary did not have the legal power to cancel the plea deals. The ruling also criticizes the timing of the defense secretary's move, saying it came after the deals were already approved by the top official at Guantanamo. Some families of the victims want the case to go to trial and possibly end with death sentences. However, legal experts are unsure if this will ever happen. If the case does go to trial, there could be many issues to deal with, like the CIA's destruction of interrogation videos and whether the defendants' torture affected later interviews.