Accused 9/11 orchestrator's plea revoked

• Mohammed has been held at Guantánamo Bay since at least 2006 following his capture in Pakistan in 2003.
• The cases against the accused 9/11 plotters have dragged on for two decades, complicated in part by the fact that they were tortured while in CIA custody.

Yes, but: Republicans and the families of some 9/11 victims reacted to the plea deal with outrage.

• "The Biden-Harris Administration's cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R- Ky.) said in a statement.
• Austin's decision meant revoking Brig. Gen. Susan Escallier's authority in the matter, which also involves co-defendants Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

What he's saying: "I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009," Austin wrote in a memo to Escallier.

• "Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself."

Catch up quick: Mohammed and the two others included in the plea deal were among those charged and arraigned in 2008 and again charged jointly and arraigned in 2012, per a Department of Defense news release announcing the deal on Wednesday.

• Fellow 9/11 defendants Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh weren't included in the now-axed deal.
• All of the defendants have been held in the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo.

Go deeper: Accused 9/11 plotters reach plea deal, Pentagon says