The key sentence in the article

Because of the unusual circumstances of Mr. Ghailani’s case, the prosecution faced significant legal hurdles even getting his case to trial. On the eve of the start of his trial in October, month, the government lost a key ruling that may have seriously damaged its chances of winning convictions. In the ruling, the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court in Manhattan, barred prosecutors from using an important witness against Mr. Ghailani because the government had learned about the man through Mr. Ghailani’s interrogation while he was in C.I.A. custody, where his lawyers say he was tortured.
The judge took the side of the defendant and that was the end of the case. IMO the judge was biased for the defense which is not surprising.

In any case, Ghailani should not have been tried in civilian court.

I would further argue that the result of this trial is exactly what obama/holder were looking for. obama/holder being typical liberals who carry the water for criminal rights and ignore the plight of the victims.