Pentagon pledges US military's commitment to orderly Trump transition

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told troops in a memo released on Thursday that the Pentagon was committed to an orderly transition to the incoming administration of Donald Trump, and that the military would not get involved in politics and was ready to carry out "all lawful orders."

Trump was elected president on Tuesday, capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House and ushering in a new US leadership.

In a memo to US troops that was sent out on Wednesday night and publicly released on Thursday, Austin said, "the US military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena; to stand guard over our republic with principle and professionalism; and to stand together with the valued allies and partners who deepen our security."

Speaking with reporters later on Wednesday in Miami, Austin said he believed senior Pentagon leaders will continue to do the right thing.

"These senior leaders will stay focused on the task at hand, and it is defending this country, taking care of our troops, succeeding through teamwork," he said.

Austin scrapped 9/11 plea deal is valid: judge

Meanwhile, Plea agreements with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants are valid and binding, a US military judge said in a ruling published Thursday, three months after the deals were scrapped by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The agreements — which are understood to take the death penalty off the table — had triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks, and Austin has said that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial.

Colonel Matthew McCall granted defence motions to schedule a hearing for the entry of pleas in keeping with the agreements made with the three defendants, the ruling said.

They are "enforceable contracts," which "transformed into binding agreements when signed by the Convening Authority, who had authority to sign them when she did so," it said, referring to the official behind the deals, Susan Escallier.

The prosecution has the opportunity to appeal the Wednesday ruling, but it was not immediately clear if they would do so.

Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement that "we are reviewing the decision and don't have anything further at this time."

The plea deals with Mohammed and two alleged accomplices — Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi — were announced in late July.