The court found that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had the authority to invalidate a contract reached between the accused mastermind and a Pentagon official.

A divided federal appeals court ruled Friday that the U.S. government can throw out plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and two others who agreed last July to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences,

A divided federal appeals court has thrown out an agreement that would've allowed accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal sparing him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s 2001 attacks.