The Justice Department, on behalf of the Pentagon, on Tuesday asked an appeals court to block an effort to enforce plea deals reached with four accused conspirators of the Sept. 11, 2001,

A U.S. military appeals court has ruled that plea deals related to the man accused of masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two accomplices can proceed after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had earlier moved to invalidate the agreements.

FileA plea deal that could let the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks avoid the death penalty was upheld by a U.S. military appeals court.Earlier this year three men held for decades without trial at the Guantanamo Bay detention center reached an agreement with Pentagon prosecutors to plead guilty and possibly avoid the death penalty.

The Biden administration has asked a federal appeals court to block a plea agreement for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that would spare him the risk of the death penalty.