FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A lawyer representing news organizations has urged the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay to unseal the plea deal made with accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others. The lawyer argued that the public has a constitutional right and a compelling need to follow one of the most disputed prosecutions in the country.
The plea agreement, reached in August by the accused, their U.S. government prosecutors, and the Guantanamo commission's top official, was abruptly revoked by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shortly after becoming public. This move has sparked intense debate in the ongoing military hearings related to the September 11, 2001, attacks, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people and led to prolonged U.S. military interventions overseas.
