STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Today, a judge hears arguments for unsealing secret records relating to the September 11 attacks. Numerous news organizations, including this one, asked the judge for access to plea agreements for three prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer has covered their case for years, and she's with us. Sacha, good morning.
SACHA PFEIFFER, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. What's in these documents?
PFEIFFER: These documents contain the details for the settlement agreements that the government made with these prisoners and then rejected. Now, the brief recap is that over the summer, there was huge news in the 9/11 case. And, of course, this is a case that has seen no trial, even though those attacks were more than 20 years ago.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
PFEIFFER: The shocker was that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 case - and two other men had agreed to plead guilty. And in return for pleading guilty, they would no longer face a death penalty trial. But then, two days later, there was another shocker, which is that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rescinded those plea deals. There is a separate court fight underway about whether he was legally allowed to do that. But in the meantime, those rescinded plea deal documents are sealed in a military court. And we here at NPR, plus The New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, NBC, Associated Press, Univision - we are trying to get them unsealed.
INSKEEP: Who wants these documents to remain sealed if they contain an agreement that's not even in force?
PFEIFFER: It is both the U.S. government, plus the defendants and their lawyers. One of their arguments is that if the plea deals are unsealed now, that could prevent these men from eventually getting a fair trial. For example, defense lawyers still want the military court to honor the plea deals. And if the defendants do eventually, ultimately, plead guilty, they will have to go before a military jury to be sentenced. And their lawyers say unsealing the deals now could taint that jury.
INSKEEP: I'm trying to figure that out. I assume the jury would learn the facts of the case. So how would unsealing them now taint the jury?
PFEIFFER: The government and defense lawyers say that for one thing, we already know that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would get a life sentence if he pleads guilty. But the other two defendants potentially could get lesser sentences. And the defense lawyers say if the plea deals are made public now, military jurors might fear public backlash if all three men don't get maximum sentences. In another argument, the government and defense lawyers say the withdrawn plea deals are not official judicial documents, so the public does not have a right to access them.
INSKEEP: What arguments will NPR's lawyers and others make?
PFEIFFER: I will quote to you directly from our legal motion. Our attorneys say that what the defense lawyers and government are arguing, quote, "defies law, logic and common sense," end quote. Our argument is that the plea deals are already part of the court record, so the public does have a right to see them. There is a debate raging among 9/11 family members over whether plea deals are the best way to resolve this case. And our lawyers say the only way to have an informed debate about that is to know the terms of the deals - therefore, unseal them.
INSKEEP: NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer, thanks so much.
PFEIFFER: You're welcome, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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