With plea deals canceled, what happens next with the Guantanamo 9/11 trials?

Summary

Consider This: With Plea Deals Canceled, What Happens Next with the Guantanamo 9/11 Trials?

Released on July 20, 2025 by NPR

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Introduction: The Lingering Legacy of 9/11 and Guantanamo Bay

In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States embarked on a relentless pursuit of justice against those responsible. Sacha Pfeiffer sets the stage by recounting the immediate aftermath of the attacks and President George W. Bush's vow of retaliation:

"The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice."
— George W. Bush (00:21)

By 2006, key suspects were apprehended and transferred to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, a facility that has since become emblematic of America's ongoing quest for justice. Over two decades later, Guantanamo still holds 15 prisoners, including five accused of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks, with no trial in sight.

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The State of Guantanamo's 9/11 Detainees

Nearly 800 suspected terrorists have been detained at Guantanamo, with most released without formal charges. The remaining inmates, including alleged ringleader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, await trial with the U.S. government intent on prosecution and potential execution. However, decades of delays have left the fate of these detainees uncertain.

Terry Rockefeller, whose sister perished in the 9/11 attacks, highlights the central obstacle to the trials:

"The fact of torture is at the heart of what's delaying these trials."
— Terry Rockefeller (01:29)

The use of torture in secret CIA black sites has complicated legal proceedings, particularly concerning access to classified evidence. Rockefeller expresses frustration over the prolonged legal battles:

"Physicists pushing the boulder up the hill, just getting so close and then having to take so many steps backwards again."
— Terry Rockefeller (02:04)

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Cancelled Plea Deals: A Major Setback

A significant development occurred last summer when plea deals were reached with three 9/11 defendants, allowing them to plead guilty in exchange for life imprisonment without parole, thereby avoiding death penalty trials. This was a moment of hope for many families seeking closure.

However, former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opposed these deals, leading a federal appeals court to cancel them earlier this month. This decision was celebrated by some, like Bret Eagleson, who lost his father in the attacks:

"We want a trial. We want to put these individuals on a stand. We want the public to see it, and we want the media to see everything that these individuals have to say."
— Bret Eagleson (02:58)

In contrast, Terry Rockefeller initially welcomed the plea deals, believing they could end the "totally failed military commission system":

"I thought it would put an end to the totally failed military commission system."
— Terry Rockefeller (02:32)

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Expert Analysis: Georgetown Law Professor Steve Vladek

Following the cancellation of the plea deals, Sacha Pfeiffer interviews Steve Vladek, a law professor at Georgetown University, who provides insight into the implications:

"It's an enormously important development... the way in which the plea deals were called off... is going to create even more delay going forward because that's going to provoke litigation all its own."
— Steve Vladek (05:51)

Vladek explains that the rejection of the plea deals not only halts a potential resolution but also sets the stage for further legal battles involving the military commissions and the federal appeals court. This turmoil extends the already dysfunctional process, making a trial increasingly unlikely.

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Divergent Views Among 9/11 Families

The episode captures the emotional and varied responses from 9/11 families:

• Liz Miller, who lost her father in the attacks, supports the plea deals as a means to end the prolonged legal saga:

  "I'm really feeling very frustrated, and I've reached a point where... it's not going to happen."
  — Liz Miller (08:31)

• Bret Eagleson, advocating for a trial, emphasizes the need for justice and transparency:

  "We absolutely need a trial and a plea deal. A plea bargain would have taken that right away from us... we have the right to for justice."
  — Bret Eagleson (09:57)

These contrasting perspectives underscore the deep emotional toll and the quest for closure among the families affected by the tragedy.

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The Path Forward: Uncertain and Protracted

As the plea deals have been rescinded, the future of the Guantanamo 9/11 trials remains murky. Professor Vladek articulates the challenges ahead:

"The longer these cases remain capital cases, the longer that we're going to have years of additional pretrial litigation, of evidentiary disputes, of fights over who can testify and what can they testify about."
— Steve Vladek (07:04)

The military commission system's inefficiencies, combined with ongoing litigation over classified information and procedural hurdles, suggest that a definitive resolution may be decades away. Furthermore, as defendants age or succumb to illness, the window for prosecution narrows, raising concerns about the potential for unresolved justice.

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Conclusion: A Call for Closure Amidst Legal Quagmires

"Consider This" poignantly highlights the enduring complexities of seeking justice for the 9/11 attacks. With plea deals off the table, the remaining defendants at Guantanamo face an uncertain future, emblematic of broader challenges within the U.S. legal and military justice systems. The episode underscores the profound impact on the families seeking closure and the intricate legal battles that continue to delay resolution.

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Notable Quotes:

• George W. Bush (00:21): "The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts..."
• Terry Rockefeller (01:29): "The fact of torture is at the heart of what's delaying these trials."
• Bret Eagleson (02:58): "We want a trial... we want the media to see everything that these individuals have to say."
• Steve Vladek (05:51): "It's an enormously important development..."

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Key Contributors:

• Host: Sacha Pfeiffer
• Guest: Steve Vladek, Georgetown University Law Professor
• Interviewees: Terry Rockefeller, Bret Eagleson, Liz Miller

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Produced by: Gabriel Sanchez
Edited by: Tin Beat Ermias
Executive Producer: Sami Yenigun

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For more insightful summaries and in-depth analyses, subscribe to Consider This+ and support NPR's vital journalism.

Transcript

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States was shaken an apparent terrorist attack. An aircraft crashed near the Pentagon just Outside of Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia, about an hour after those attacks. In New York that night, in a primetime Oval Office address, then President George W. Bush promised retaliation.

[George W. Bush]

The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

By 2006, the top suspects were in US custody, and one place became synonymous with America's quest for justice.

[George W. Bush]

So I'm announcing today that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi Bin al Sheeb, and 11 other terrorists in CIA custody had been transferred to the United States Naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

Over the years, nearly 800 suspected terrorists have been held at Guantanamo. Most were released without being criminally charged. Now only 15 prisoners remain, including five men accused of helping orchestrate the 911 attacks. Among them is the alleged ringleader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The US Government wants to try them and put them to death. But decades later, there's still been no trial.

[Terry Rockefeller]

The fact of torture is at the heart of what's delaying these trials.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

That's Terry Rockefeller, whose only sibling, her younger sister Laura, died in the 911 attacks.

[Terry Rockefeller]

For the people who think the torture is in the past, they don't realize that it's coming up over and over and over again. They don't realize how alive the issue remains.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

She's referring to the fact that the 911 defendants were tortured in secret overseas CIA prisons called black sites. That's created huge legal problems and fights over access to classified material. So for Rockefeller, trying to take the 911 case to trial feels like an exercise in futility.

[Terry Rockefeller]

Physicists pushing the boulder up the hill, just getting so close and then having to take so many steps backwards again.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

So she was relieved, even elated, when she learned that the government had reached plea deals with three of the 911 defendants last summer. Those deals would let them plead guilty and spend up to life in prison without parole instead of facing a death penalty trial.

[Terry Rockefeller]

I thought it would put an end to the totally failed military commission system.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

But former U.S. defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opposed the plea deals and tried to cancel them. And earlier this month, a federal appeals court sided with Secretary Austin and retracted the deals. That was reason for celebration for another 911 family member, Bret Eagleson. He lost his father, John that day.

[Bret Eagleson]

We want a trial. We want to put these individuals on a stand. We want the public to see it, and we want the media to see everything that these individuals have to say.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

But Karen Greenberg is less optimistic. She's director of the center on National Security at Fordham University Law School. She wonders if Guantanamo's military prison will remain open in indefinitely and whether the Saga of the 911 case will stay unresolved as the defendants begin dying of illness or old age.

[Terry Rockefeller]

I now cannot see a path forward foreclosure, and this is the first time I've really felt this kind of, you know, it's not going to happen.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

Ever consider this. After years of legal back and forth, the 911 case at Guantanamo was on the cusp of a resolution with those plea deals. Now that they've been thrown out, what's next? After the break, I put that question to a legal scholar who's been following the case since it began. From npr, I'm Sacha Pfeiffer.

[Steve Vladek]

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[Sacha Pfeiffer]

It'S consider this from NPR. The September 11, 2001, terror attacks happened almost a quarter century ago, but the men charged with orchestrating them have still not gone to trial. They've been held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than two decades, and chances are increasing that they may eventually die there, being convicted. This month, a major new development happened in the case. So we've asked Georgetown University law professor Steve Laudock to talk with us about whether that can make a trial more or less likely. He's been tracking the 911 case since its inception. Steve, welcome.

[Steve Vladek]

Thanks, Sasha. Great to be with you.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

The big development is that the plea deals reached with the 911 defendants last summer, including the alleged ringleader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, have been canceled. Those deals would have let them avoid a death penalty trial by pleading guilty and serving up to life in prison without parole. First, Steve, could you give us your thoughts on those plea deals being called off?

[Steve Vladek]

Sure. I mean, I think, Sasha, it's an enormously important development. I Think in two different respects. The first is, you know, I think for a long time a lot of folks who are both skeptical of the prosecutions and supportive of them had really viewed plea deals as the most expedient, the most efficient way to actually try to bring some degree of closure to this long running, highly emotionally charged case. Obviously, that now puts the kibosh on that. But second, the way in which the plea deals were called off, with the convening authority, General Susan Escalier, agreeing to them, only to be overruled by former General Lloyd Austin, I think Sasha's going to create even more delay going forward because that's going to provoke litigation all its own.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

And we should note, by the way, that briefly, the convening authority is the technical term really for the person that oversees the military court down in Guantanamo.

[Steve Vladek]

That's right. And so, you know, it's not just that the plea deals were called off, Sasha, it's that they were called off in a way that is itself going to create more litigation, both in the military commissions themselves and before the federal Appeals court, the D.C. circuit, potentially even the Supreme Court.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

As you mentioned, this case has been caught in a cycle of what are called pretrial hearings for years. The case is widely viewed as extremely dysfunctional. So if the plea deals remain canceled, what do you think happens next? We really go back to pretrial hearings for a trial that seems doubtful may ever happen?

[Steve Vladek]

I think we do. And I think it's worth saying the quiet part out loud. Part of why this whole process has been so involved, Sasha, is because, as you know, these are capital charges. And the federal government, from the start, across administrations of both parties, has been adamant that it believes it should be able to obtain the death penalty for the defendants in these cases. The sort of the quick and dirty criminal procedure law is that capital cases have to check a lot more boxes than non capital cases. And so the longer that these cases remain capital cases, the longer that we're going to have years of additional pretrial litigation, of evidentiary disputes, of fights over who can testify and what can they testify about. And that's again going back to part of why the plea deals, I think, were seen by many as such a positive step forward, because the government was willing, at least in the deals that General Escalier entered into, to give up the death penalty in exchange for the defendants pleading guilty. That could have short circuited this entire process.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

Steve, I want to play you a piece of tape from a 911 family member I spoke with last week. Her Name is Liz Miller. Her dad died on September 11th. She supports the plea deals. And Liz told me this. I'm really feeling very frustrated, and I've reached a point where, like, I'm losing my decorum, in a sense, because the main theme is waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. And I'm really not sure how this is going to end, if it's ever going to end. Steve, how do you think this case ends?

[Steve Vladek]

Sasha? I wish I knew. I mean, I think, you know, the plea deals were, gosh, going back 10 or 15 years now. I think what a lot of folks had thought would be the quickest way out of this case without plea deals, without plea deals now, without plea deals in the future. The complication that is just, I think, ultimately unavoidable. Even if the defendants are ultimately convicted in a trial that seems still several years away, they'll be entitled to an appeal, an appeal that's going to raise a whole battery of messy questions that. That in almost every case, Sasha, will be novel questions, because we haven't had military commission prosecutions in this context.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

I spoke with another 911 family member last week who has a very different view than Liz Miller, who we heard from earlier. This one is Bret Eagleson. He also lost his father on September 11, but he opposes plea deals. And Brett told me this.

[Bret Eagleson]

We absolutely need a trial and a plea deal. A plea bargain would have taken that right away from us. As Americans, as humans, we have the right to for justice. That's how we get the truth.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

He used the word justice. The court, in its ruling last week, also used the word justice and indicated that only a trial would be true justice. What do you think justice should look like in the 911 case?

[Steve Vladek]

I think that's such a hard question to answer, Sasha. Everyone's going to answer it differently. I guess what I'll just say is I would think that justice also includes at least a modicum of closure, and everyone's going to have strong opinions and strong views about what to do with the 911 defendants. It seems like the worst case scenario for everybody is the possibility that five years from now, ten years from now, we still won't have a final outcome. And so, yes, I think all things being equal, there are opportunities for a trial to establish facts that a plea agreement might not. But the reality here is that the government has had 15, 16, 17 years to get these cases to trial. And because of a series of both procedural and strategic and tactical decisions the government's made, it has provoked all this litigation that slowed it down. Litigation that's only going to continue to slow it down. So there comes a point where comparing a plea agreement to a trial is really comparing apples to oranges, because a trial is not anywhere on the horizon. And it seems to me that some folks might want even more than a trial is some closure on what really has been such a emotional and upsetting and traumatic chapter in American jurisprudence.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

That's Georgetown Law professor Steve Vladek Talking about the 911 case at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Steve, thank you.

[Steve Vladek]

Thank you.

[Sacha Pfeiffer]

This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez. It was edited by Tin Beat Ermias. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Sascha Pfeiffer.

[Steve Vladek]

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