Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was "certainly surprised" when the Defense Department's convening authority announced a plea deal with three top 9/11 terrorists last week.
Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday, "We were not aware that the prosecution or defense would enter the terms of the plea agreement."
She said that Austin only found about the deal when it was announced publicly July 31 as he returned from a trip to the Indo-Pacific.
Austin revoked the plea deal and took oversight of the case on Friday. In a memo outlining his decision, Austin wrote: "I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009."
He continued, "Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself."
As a result, the death penalty remains on the table for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad and two of his alleged accomplices, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
The deal, which would have removed the possibility of a death sentence in exchange for guilty pleas on all counts — including conspiracy and nearly 3,000 murder charges — sparked outrage among Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as well as 9/11 survivors and the families of victims.
The CIA and Pakistani intelligence arrested Mohammad in Pakistan in 2003. All three defendants are being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, along with two other accused 9/11 plotters who were not part of the plea deal.
The case has been delayed for years, but Singh said Austin hopes the terrorists will eventually go on trial. She said the secretary said, "the American public deserves the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case."