The defense secretary has hit the brakes on the plea deal for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accomplices — saying the death penalty is back on the table following blistering condemnation.

“Secretary (Lloyd) Austin signed a memo reserving for himself the specific authority to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the 9/11 military commission cases,” the secretary stated late Friday night.

He goes on to say in a DOD post “the Secretary has also withdrawn from the pre-trial agreements that were signed in those cases.”

In the stunning move, Austin is saying the military tribunal does not have the authority to dismiss the death penalty for Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, “three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case,” as the DOD has already stated.

His memo goes on to say “in light of the significance of the decision” the final decision will now stop with him. He does not say what he will do next.

This is a developing story …