LEILA FADEL, HOST:
We have some news this morning out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It's about the case of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other men charged with those terror attacks. A judge has ruled that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was wrong when he tried to rescind their plea deals. So back on the table are deals that would let the men spend life in prison rather than face a death penalty trial that might never happen, since the case has been gridlocked for years. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer covers Guantanamo and is here to explain. Good morning, Sacha.
SACHA PFEIFFER, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: OK, so what does this U.S. military court judge in Guantanamo say the defense secretary did wrong?
PFEIFFER: The judge says that Austin acted beyond the scope of his authority and acted too late by trying to reverse these plea deals after they were already made back in July. It wasn't until 48 hours after the deals were struck that Austin canceled them. He said at the time that he was caught off guard and that he thinks there should be a trial. And he was also getting a lot of heat from politicians and 9/11 family members, who complained that the defendants were getting off too easy.
FADEL: So, I mean, he oversees the whole Pentagon. So what was beyond the scope of his authority? He doesn't have the final say?
PFEIFFER: You would think he does, but the judge says not in this circumstance.
FADEL: OK.
PFEIFFER: And that's because Austin had delegated authority to the head of the military court to make plea deals. So the head of the court does not need Austin's permission to do that. And the Guantanamo judge says once Austin deputized the head of the military court to make plea deals, Austin cannot rescind the deals simply because he disagrees with them.
FADEL: And what is the Pentagon saying about this?
PFEIFFER: There has been no word yet from the Pentagon on whether it might appeal. So for now, the judge says he is going to move forward with accepting guilty pleas.
FADEL: I mean, there were some 3,000 people killed in those attacks. What about their family members? They've been waiting for more than 20 years for this to end, but the case keeps dragging on. How are they feeling?
PFEIFFER: Yeah, it is a real mixture of emotions, a lot of frustration and anger. Some feel relieved. Many feel really jerked around. Some want a trial. They think it could reveal new information about the planning of the attacks, and they want these men put to death. But there are others that support the plea deals. One I've talked to many times is Elizabeth Miller. Her dad died on 9/11. She says she hopes the plea deals will go forward and the case will end. But she also realizes there's a new presidential administration coming in, and it could try to block the deals again.
ELIZABETH MILLER: I'm hoping to the high heavens that that doesn't happen and that people see this as a method for finality. But anything's possible with anything at Guantanamo. You never know what you're going to get.
PFEIFFER: So Miller is optimistic, but she's also braced for more legal curveballs.
FADEL: Would the Trump administration and a new defense secretary have a stronger legal argument, since the new secretary might not have deputized the military court the way Secretary Austin did?
PFEIFFER: It is very hard to answer that because this is very unusual legal territory, especially because the military court is basically figuring out the rules as it goes and because the last Trump administration was known for its unpredictability. Now, the lawyers for the defendants would almost certainly say the plea deals are legal contracts, but, as Miller said, anything could happen.
FADEL: NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer. Thank you, Sacha.
PFEIFFER: You're welcome, and thanks, Leila.
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