...But Wells Dixon, a lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights who is representing some detainees, is hopeful the guilty plea provision will be a big help in closing the facility. After detainees plead guilty, the provision says, they would be able to serve out their sentences in foreign countries.
Dixon estimated that about a dozen of the 80 remaining detainees would choose to plead guilty. With 28 detainees already cleared for transfer and another 30 or so likely to be cleared based on past clearance rates, Dixon said, having a dozen plead guilty would leave fewer than 10 detainees at the facility.
“Even if even Congress doesn’t lift the transfer restriction, there’s still a pathway to closure, and certainly the guilty plea provision would make it easier,” Dixon said.
Dixon said he anticipates the provision making it into law.
“It’s not politically controversial because it is not seen as an end run on the transfer restriction,” he said. “No congressman in his or her right mind would oppose a provision that would allow a detainee to plead guilty and cooperate with the U.S.” ...