Driving the news: The Supreme Court on Monday released a list of orders identifying cases it intends to hear and denying those it will not, such as the petition in Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, et al. v. United States.
- The order does not explain why the appeal was denied.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh recused himself from the decision. He served as deputy counsel to President George W. Bush, where he reportedly participated in the legal and policy discussions following 9/11.
Catch up quickly: The government and the three men reached plea deals in 2024 that would have spared them the death penalty.
- The decision sparked outrage and reluctance from some families of 9/11 victims.
- Lloyd Austin, then Secretary of Defense, withdrew the agreements a few days later, stating that “the responsibility for such a decision should fall on me.”
- Mohammed and his co-defendants, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al Hawsawi, appealed the decision. While a military tribunal initially sided with the defendants, the United States Court of Appeals for the Washington Circuit sided with Austin, prompting their final appeal to the Supreme Court.
Zoom out: Mohammed and his co-defendants were first brought to justice in 2008 for their alleged roles in attacks involving four hijacked planes that hit New York’s Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
- Mohammed and his co-defendants have been held in the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006.
- Prosecutors had requested a January 2027 trial date, but a judge determined the deadline would not allow enough time to resolve outstanding preliminary issues.
What we’re looking at: The new tentative trial date is June 5, 2028.
Go further: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be tried in 2028 for the September 11 attacks
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