By Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Lawrence Ukenye

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On the eve of another somber anniversary, those who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks — or as a result of exposure or injuries resulting from responding to its aftermath — are on edge.

Compounding their pain has been news that the government is nearing possible plea agreements with five suspected 9/11 terrorists still imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay.

It’s a subject we wrote about last month when a group of more than 2,000 family members of 9/11 victims urged President JOE BIDEN to scuttle any deals. Days after that piece, 34 members of Congress (all Republicans, save one) wrote Biden a similar letter, calling potential agreements to spare KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED and other alleged Sept. 11 plotters from the death penalty “unconscionable.”

At issue is the way news of the potential deals was disseminated. The White House didn’t notify some 9/11 families last month of the possible plea agreements. That came from the Pentagon office overseeing the judicial process for the remaining 9/11 detainees.

“The way the letter was sent to only a few families, it made it sound like it was a fait accompli,” said TROY ROSASCO, an attorney who has helped scores of 9/11 families with victim compensation claims. “This is a public policy decision that goes well beyond the Pentagon. We need leadership here from President Biden to say we need to hold the 9/11 terrorists accountable.”

The White House referred us back to its statement last month, noting that the president was not informed of any decisions by the Office of the Chief Prosecutor for Military Commissions related to the resolution of 9/11 cases. It also said Biden’s commitment to justice for affected families hasn’t changed.

If there is anything that nearly all 9/11 families agree on, it’s that the military’s process for delivering justice to those responsible for the attacks has taken far too long. But feelings differ on what should happen now.

At a December 2021 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the future of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, former Brig. Gen. JOHN BAKER, who spent six years overseeing the facility as chief defense counsel for military commissions, said it would behoove the government to bring ongoing cases to “as rapid a conclusion as possible.”

“Notice I don't say as just a conclusion as possible. It is too late in the process for the current military commissions to do justice for anyone,” he said, calling the proceedings a “failed experiment” that had only resulted in one final conviction.

TERRY KAY ROCKEFELLER, who lost her sister in the North Tower, agrees with Baker, mostly based on her own experiences of traveling to Guantanamo over the past decade. A founding member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, she and other members of the NGO have been allowed to observe the military trials that have taken place.

She was there in 2021 when MAJID KHAN, who worked as a courier for al Qaeda, detailed his brutal torture for three years at CIA “black sites” overseas. And she noted that just last month, a military judge at Guantanamo threw out confessions made by ABD AL-RAHIM AL-NASHIRI, the Saudi defendant accused of organizing the deadly 2000 bombing against the USS Cole in Yemen. The confessions, the judge said, were obtained by using torture.

“These guys were all tortured,” Rockefeller said in an interview. “And our government has a huge interest in preventing a lot of information from coming out.”

Rockefeller said she wants to learn more about the attacks. But much of that information remains classified, despite Biden’s 2021 executive order directing more 9/11 information be made public.

“I don’t think it will come out at a trial in the military commissions,” she said. “We’ve just begun the 12th year of pre-trial hearings. There’s a reason that the trial isn’t starting, and it’s because it probably never will.”

Plea agreements with the 9/11 plotters could extract some new information, and would likely ensure that, while they won’t be executed, they won’t receive clemency either (as al-Nashiri did). But that’s not enough for some family members.

Rosasco said many of his clients are frustrated and “simply don’t feel like the government cares to listen to their input on what happens to the terrorists,” he said. “They think the government has mishandled this for so long that there are some people who believe we should just put this behind us. No one can put behind the fact that their loved ones are no longer here.

“The question 9/11 victims have is: Can the government handle the truth? So far, I don’t think the government is willing to be truly exposed. Are we really going to hide from the truth in order to not hold terrorists accountable?”

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Thanks to the White House Historical Association for this question!

Which president was the first to utilize Camp David as a retreat while it was still called “Shangri-La?”

(Answer at bottom.)

OPENING NIGHT BLITZ: The Biden campaign unveiled a new ad that will air during the NFL season opener on Thursday night, Axios’ SARA FISCHER reports. The ad, titled “Got to Work,” is part of a $25 million campaign that will tout Biden’s economic accomplishments and run through December. “They said millions would lose their jobs and the economy would collapse, but this president refused to let that happen,” a narrator says in the ad.

Fischer reports that the spot will run on “local broadcast networks in Michigan, the home state of the Detroit Lions, as well as in battleground states such as Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada.” The Lions are playing the defending Super Bowl champs, Kansas City. We expect Detroit to come out hot, getting their fan's expectations super high, before squandering it all.

HASN’T THE BOOK PUBLISHING INDUSTRY SUFFERED ENOUGH?: Books written about Biden haven’t been the slam dunk in sales like those about his predecessor, DONALD TRUMP. “After the Trump gold rush for the book industry of the last few years, the Biden era has, so far, been a bust,” our DANIEL LIPPMAN writes. Conservative publishers attribute the slump to Biden being less “interesting,” despite the ongoing legal drama involving his son HUNTER BIDEN.

While MICHAEL WOLFF’s “Fire and Fury” about Trump sold nearly a million copies, books about Biden have only produced sales figures in the thousands. FRANKLIN FOER, a staff writer at “The Atlantic,” is hoping that his new Biden book, “The Last Politician,” will buck the trend.

TESTING POSITIVELY TOWARDS NEGATIVE: Biden tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday but plans to mask indoors around others after first lady JILL BIDEN tested positive a day earlier, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE told reporters. The first lady, who tested — as Trump might say — negatively towards positive for the virus on Monday night, continues to isolate in Delaware, where she and the president spent the weekend. So far, Biden hasn’t experienced any Covid symptoms, Jean Pierre said.

Biden was masked at a Tuesday afternoon Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, although he took off his mask to deliver remarks and kept it off when he awarded Capt. LARRY L. TAYLOR the medal.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by the Washington Post’s DAN LAMOTHE about how Gen. ERIC M. SMITH is unable to assume the full responsibilities of being the Marine Corps commandant due to Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) hold on military promotions. Smith, who Biden nominated in May, can only lead with the limited authority typically granted to an administrator and hasn’t been able to share plans that would change how the U.S. would fight in a potential clash with China. Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES tweeted the piece.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This story by the New York Times’ NATE COHN about how Biden is losing support from Black and Hispanic voters. Roughly 53 percent of nonwhite voters support Biden compared to the nearly 70 percent who helped power his 2020 victory over Trump, according to New York Times/Siena College national polls over the last year. The findings also highlight a more precipitous decline among nonwhite voters without a college degree, suggesting Trump’s MAGA populism has eroded Democrats’ working-class appeal.

LEAVE THE PRESS TO MEET THE PRESS: Tuesday was NBC’s KRISTEN WELKER’s last day on the White House beat before she takes over as host and moderator of “Meet The Press.” Jean-Pierre thanked Welker at the start of the briefing for her work covering the White House over the past decade. “We will miss you and we are incredibly thrilled and excited for you in a different Washington institution,” Jean-Pierre said. “And of course, book our people!”

EYES ON THE CALAMARI COMEBACK STATE: It’s a big day for GABE AMO, a former Biden special assistant and deputy director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Amo is one of 12 candidates running in the Democratic primary to replace Rep. DAVID CICILLINE (D-R.I.), who retired from Congress earlier this year. There hasn’t been a ton of public polling on this race, but Amo, who still has a lot of allies in the West Wing, has consistently been talked about in local media as one of the top-tier candidates.

FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: ALEXANDRA BELL is now deputy associate director for communications at the Office of Management and Budget, Lippman has learned. She most recently was senior adviser and communications director for House Budget Committee Democrats. SHELBY WAGENSELLER has also been promoted to be communications director for OMB.

MORE PERSONNEL MOVES: KATIE HENDRICKSON has been promoted to be deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Trade Representative. She previously was director of congressional affairs for USTR.

— HOOR QURESHI has moved to the State Department where she is now a special assistant to LIZ ALLEN, the undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. She was previously chief of staff for the Office of Digital Strategy at the White House.

— ASMA MIRZA is now chief performance officer for the state of Maryland. She was previously a special assistant to the president and served as the deputy for implementation management for the White House Infrastructure Implementation Team.

BACK IN THE MIX: Former Treasury Secretary JACOB J. LEW — who possesses one of the most scrutinized signatures in politics — has been nominated to serve as ambassador to Israel, the White House announced Tuesday. Lew has never held an overseas post but also previously worked under former President BARACK OBAMA as his chief of staff. He served in the Clinton administration as director of the Office of Budget and Management.

The appointment comes amid ongoing friction between Biden and Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU over Israel's judicial reforms that generated protests throughout the country.

WE’RE BACK!: Biden has nominated COURTNEY O’DONNELL to represent the U.S. at UNESCO, marking the first person to hold the position since the country rejoined the organization last month after a five-year hiatus. O’Donnell previously served as a top aide for Vice President KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF.

LABOR IN ARRAY: The Labor Department is regaining momentum after the administration’s, eh, laborious, battle with lawmakers over acting Secretary JULIE SU’s nomination. Though her bid remains pending, the department has managed to advance a series of Biden’s policy priorities, including extending time-and-a-half overtime pay and a rewrite of prevailing wage rules for construction workers on federally funded projects.

The progress has earned praise from labor groups, representing a boon in Biden’s effort to present his administration as the most union-friendly in history. Our NICK NIEDZWIADEK and OLIVIA OLANDER have the details for Pro subscribers.

Why Hunter Biden might not be the slam dunk issue GOP commentators hoped (POLITICO’s Natalie Allison)

The $53,000 Connection: The High Cost of High-Speed Internet for Everyone (WSJ’s Ryan Tracy)

President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT requested the National Park Service identify a site within 100 miles of the White House to use as a respite for him. On April 22, 1942, Roosevelt visited Camp Hi-Catoctin and selected it as the location for future presidential retreats, naming it Shangri-La. It eventually became known as Camp David, according to the White House Historical Association.

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.

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