Biden administration asks court to block 9/11 plea deals

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, centre, and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash, left, attending a pre-trial session at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba (Janet Hamlin/AP)

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

The Justice Department argued in a brief filed with a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia that the government would be irreparably harmed if the guilty pleas were accepted.