OAN Staff James Meyers -- On Monday night, a military appeals court ruled against Austin’s order this past summer nullifying plea deals reached with Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

Meanwhile, the terrorists’ defense attorneys argued that the secretary did not have the authority to overturn the agreements after they were approved by the highest authority of the Guantanamo Bay courts in July. 

They also claimed that the Defense Secretary’s order was wrongful interference in the case. 

Supporters of the plea agreement see it as a way of resolving the legally troubled case against the men at the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

As a result, this will now allow Mohammad, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the tragic 9/11 attacks, along with his co-conspirators to plead guilty in a hearing next week. 

Nevertheless, Austin still retains the ability to appeal the decision. 

In the current arrangements, Attash, al-Hawasawi and Mohammad agreed to plead guilty to war crimes in exchange for life sentences.

Additionally, prosecutors offered a deal to bring an end to the pretrial court proceedings that have been ongoing for over 10 years. 

The decision comes after a lower court ruled that Austin’s order came too late in November, and that the act was beyond his authority. 

Appeals court judges upheld that ruling in the 21-page decision that was released Monday night. 

“We agree with the military judge that the secretary did not have authority to revoke respondents’ existing PTAs because the respondents had started performance of the PTAs,” the three-judge panel said.

The agreements were signed by Pentagon official Susan K. Escallier, who Austin appointed to be in charge of military commissions.

The Defense Secretary will now have the option of taking his effort to throw out the plea deals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.