ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
A legal drama is playing out this week in a 9/11 terrorism case at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It involves Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is trying to block the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, from pleading guilty this Friday. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer covers Guantanamo. Hi.
SACHA PFEIFFER, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.
SHAPIRO: Tell us the backstory here.
PFEIFFER: So last summer, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three other men agreed to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison or up to life in prison. They would admit guilt in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on September 11, and then the 9/11 case would finally be almost wrapped up, more than 20 years after those attacks. But Secretary Austin reversed those deals 48 hours later. He says he was caught off guard, which is wild because this is a huge case with international implications. But that started a legal fight where Austin has been told by two military courts emphatically that he cannot retroactively cancel a plea deal. But he's kept pushing and pushing, and last night, he involved the Justice Department.
SHAPIRO: Austin leads the Defense Department, so how did the Justice Department get involved?
PFEIFFER: It's a legal process in which they asked them to intercede and do two things. First, Justice has asked a federal appeals court to block the guilty pleas. Second, it's asked the court to at least delay Friday's plea hearing if the court wants more time to think about whether to halt the pleas.
SHAPIRO: How typical is that kind of intervention, the Justice Department getting involved in a military court?
PFEIFFER: Defense attorneys for Guantanamo prisoners have often asked a federal court to intercede, although they usually lose. But a Georgetown University law professor who follows Guantanamo told me this situation, where the prosecution, the government's side, has already lost twice and now wants a federal court to order a military court to block the guilty pleas, is rare. So this is Steve Vladeck.
STEVE VLADECK: To call it unusual is a vast understatement. I mean, we've had the military commissions in some way, shape or form now for over 20 years, and we haven't had a case like this before.
PFEIFFER: And, Ari, for now, Mohammed is still scheduled to plead guilty this Friday and the other defendants next week.
SHAPIRO: Well, how is the federal court expected to rule? Is it likely to stop the guilty plea or let it go forward?
PFEIFFER: The two previous military rulings against Austin say he is too late. The plea deals were made. It's done. The federal appeals court might agree with that, but several lawyers told me the court might delay Friday's hearing to have more time to deliberate, even if the court ultimately rules against Austin and lets the 9/11 plea deals go through. Here's a former military commissions attorney named Ian Moss, who now works in private practice.
IAN MOSS: At the end of the day, I think the pleas are likely to be reinstated. It's just do we have to wait another however many years?
PFEIFFER: Years?
MOSS: Maybe. I mean, who knows?
PFEIFFER: Ari, this gets at how slow and dysfunctional the Guantanamo legal process has been. It is widely considered hopelessly gridlocked. Austin's own prosecutors have said plea deals are the best resolution. But now, just as it looks like there's a light at the end of the tunnel and President Biden might get closer to his goal of closing Guantanamo, we could instead be in for more endless litigation. Here's another exchange I had with Ian Moss.
It does seem like what's happening now is just kind of the pinnacle of the mess of Guantanamo.
MOSS: Yes. One hundred - yes, exactly. That's exactly what it is. Like, of course this would be how GITMO plays out in the final weeks of the administration. There's been gnarly politics that surround everything related to Guantanamo.
SHAPIRO: OK, Sacha, so once the federal court issues a ruling on whether Mohammed will be allowed to plead guilty Friday, then what?
PFEIFFER: Well, one side will certainly be unhappy with the outcome, so the expectation is that this case will eventually likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. That would be the next step after a federal appeals court ruling, and that process could take a very long time.
SHAPIRO: And just briefly, how are 9/11 family members reacting to all this?
PFEIFFER: Universal feelings - frustration, exhaustion. Some angry that plea deals might happen and there's no trial. Others just want it to end, so they're fine with prison sentences.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer. Thank you.
PFEIFFER: Thanks, Ari.
(SOUNDBITE OF CURREN$Y, STATIK SELEKTAH AND TERMANOLOGY SONG, "GRAN TURISMO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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