9/11 plea deals can proceed despite Pentagon intervention, judge says

The Pentagon is considering next steps after a military judge ruled this week that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin did not have the power to throw out plea deals reached earlier this year in the long-stalled cases against the accused planners of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In a Nov.

6 ruling , Air Force Col. Matthew McCall found that agreements finalized this summer enabling three of the alleged plotters to admit guilt in exchange for being spared the death penalty remained valid because Austin lacked the power to void them after the fact..