It’s not only bad PR and it’s not only that people don’t understand a procedural move.
The problem lies with the reason the procedural move was required in the first place. Barry was so intent on impressing somebody, somewhere - his Code Pink/Michael Moore coterie? the members of his 57 (Muslim) states? - by halting the trials prior to closing Gitmo that he never even considered what legal havoc it might create.
Sorry, nobody can excuse him. The fact remains that he didn’t really care one way or another either about the Cole victims or the 9/11 victims. It was all about Barry and some promise he had made to somebody, probably in exchange for lots of money. There was no reason he had to rush in and do this right now unless he had to prove his bona fides. And now he’s trying to cover it up.
I’d have to agree to all you stated.