U.S.Court order
Supreme Court turns away 9/11 defendants' bid to revive scrapped plea deals
The Supreme Court on October 19, 2026, declined to hear appeals from Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Walid bin 'Atash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi seeking to enforce 2024 plea agreements that would have spared them the death penalty in exchange for life sentences. The denial leaves in place a D.C. Circuit ruling that then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin validly withdrew the deals. Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not participate in Mohammad's case.
Order (Supreme Court of the United States) → · NBC News, CBS News, SCOTUSblog
Key points
- The petitions were Mohammad v. United States, No. 26-13, and bin 'Atash v. United States, No. 25-1335; both were denied without comment.Supreme Court of the United StatesSCOTUSblog
- The deals, approved in 2024 by military commissions convening authority Susan Escallier, called for guilty pleas to all charges and life sentences.CBS News
- A military judge and a military appeals court found Austin's withdrawal invalid before the D.C. Circuit sided with the government.CBS News
- A military judge in August set a June 2028 trial date, which depends on the parties meeting set deadlines.CBS NewsNBC News
- The men have been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2006, after earlier detention in secret CIA prisons.NBC NewsCBS News
Sources4 articles across 4 outlets
CBS News
NBC News
SCOTUSblog
Supreme Court of the United States