Pentagon appeals court upholds plea deal for 9/11 orchestrator

Catch up quick: Mohammed and two other alleged 9/11 plotters reached plea deals with the Pentagon in late July for their roles in the terrorist attack that killed almost 3,000 people.

• The three men had been facing the death penalty. Under the deal, they agreed to plead guilty to war crimes in exchange for life sentences, per the Times.
• However, Austin revoked the agreement in early August after news of the deal was met with outrage from families of the victims and some Republicans. His decision set in motion another round of litigation.
• In November, a military judge ruled that the plea agreements for the three defendants were valid.

State of play: The U.S. Court of Military Commission noted Tuesday that as of the previous day, the court had denied the government's writ of mandamus and prohibition in the case of Mohammed and his co-defendants.

• The appeals panel wrote in the decision that Austin did not have the authority to revoke the deals because the defendants had already "started performance" of the pretrial agreements, the Times reported.

• The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Tuesday.

What to watch: Prosecutors at the Pentagon will now have to decide whether to appeal the decision over the plea agreements via a higher court of appeal or proceed with plea-taking proceedings next month.

Go deeper: Accused 9/11 orchestrator's plea revoked