Guantanamo Judge Sets Plea Hearing for 9/11 Defendants Amid Legal Dispute

Defense Secretary Austin challenges plea deals offering life sentences to alleged 9/11 mastermind and co-defendants, citing the gravity of the attacks.

• Judge Matthew McCall scheduled January hearings for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants to enter guilty pleas in exchange for life sentences.
• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin seeks to overturn the plea deals, arguing that the decision to waive death penalties should be his prerogative.
• McCall ruled Austin's intervention was too late, as the plea deals had already been approved by the senior official overseeing Guantanamo prosecutions.
• The plea agreements include clauses preventing the reintroduction of death penalty charges even if the deals are later discarded.
• The Defense Department plans to appeal McCall's ruling, while some 9/11 victims' families demand trials and possible death sentences.

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