Austin was 'surprised' by 9/11 plea deals, Pentagon says

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was "surprised" by the announcement of a plea deal between a U.S. military commission and three accused plotters of the 9/11 attacks, a Pentagon spokesperson said Monday, adding that Austin wants to see the case go to trial

Austin, who revoked the plea deal Friday, "was certainly surprised as we all were," said deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

"This is not something that the secretary was consulted on," Singh told reporters at a Monday briefing. "We were not aware that the prosecution or defense would enter the terms of the plea agreement."

The Office of Military Commissions reached the plea deal Wednesday with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, also known as KSM, and two of his alleged accomplices in the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. Austin was returning from a trip to the Indo-Pacific at the time the deal was announced.

Singh said although Austin respects independent prosecutorial decisions, he believed it was too big of a case not to intervene.

"This is a case of such significance that the secretary felt it was appropriate for the authority to rest with him," she said.

Austin made the decision on his own, Singh added, saying she was not aware of President Biden being involved.

Mohammed is accused of being the chief mastermind of the attacks and has been detained since 2003.

All three defendants are held at the infamous Guantánamo Bay facility in Cuba, along with two others who did not reach the plea deal last week but are also accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks.

The plea deal angered Republicans, who accused the Biden administration of not standing up to terrorists. The White House said it was not aware of the deal before it was struck.

Some families also expressed concerns about the plea deals, though others have welcomed it and were frustrated by Austin's revocation. The U.S. military commission has long struggled to get cases to trial and reach convictions.

But Austin believes there should be a trial in the 9/11 case, Singh said.

"He believes that the families and the American public deserves the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case," she said, acknowledging that the case has been delayed for many years, as some question if a trial can ever be reached. "But this is what he believes is the best course of action."