The Department of Justice abruptly ended what is being described by some as a witchhunt against an American arms dealer contracted by the U.S. government to transport arms through Libya during Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. Charges were dropped by prosecutors after documents legally required to carry out the case threatened to expose details about Clinton's involvement. Fox News' Catherine Herridge has the exclusive details of the story:
Federal prosecutors faced a Wednesday deadline to turn over discovery documents to the legal team of American Marc Turi, who had been charged with selling weapons to Libyan rebels. Late Tuesday, an announcement came that the government was dropping the case, which was set to go to trial on Nov. 8 – the day American voters choose between Clinton and GOP nominee Donald Trump. The move may avert a release of potentially explosive documents.
“I am glad this horrific five-year ordeal is over and I am pleased to be able to move on with my life," Turi told Fox News in a statement. "The American public has the right to know that an injustice was committed against an innocent American."
Turi said his legal team advised him to accept the deal and avoid a trial, but insisted that his actions were in furtherance of his ongoing support of U.S. foreign policy. He said defending himself in a case that has now been dropped has cost him everything.
"The government took away my life, my savings, and my company that I worked so hard to build to serve our nation, and for what?" he said. "I still don’t really know who the unjust actors were who launched this attack against me from the shadows. I just hope that someday there will be someone that will be held accountable."
Last year, in his only extended television interview, Turi provided Fox News with documents and email exchanges he had with high-level members of Congress as well as military, and State Department employees to back up his claim that the Obama administration authorized in 2011, at the height of the Arab Spring, a covert weapons program that spun out of control.
Fox News, citing federal records, reported last year that documents showed U.S. officials supported Turi’s effort to channel weapons to Libyan rebels while Clinton was secretary of state.
Many of the arms destined for Libyan rebels ultimately fell into the hands of Islamist militants, reportedly including those in Syria.
Turi believes he was being blamed for a program that went off the rails, much as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, whose Internet film, “The Innocence of Muslims,” was initially blamed for the Benghazi attack.
"At some point, I may be that Internet video excuse," Turi told Fox News.
You can read the full story here, which is well worth it.
The government approved an arms trafficking program under Hillary Clinton's leadership, hired Turi to get arms to Libyan rebels and then the Department of Justice prosecuted him for it.
Turi adviser Robert Stryk accused prosecutors of bringing the case against Turi in order to cover up Clinton’s mishandling of Libya. Clinton was secretary of state on Sept. 11, 2012, when jihadists mounted an attack on two American facilities in Benghazi, killing four Americans including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
During congressional testimony about Benghazi in January 2013, Clinton denied having any knowledge about weapons trafficking through Libya when asked by Republican Senator Rand Paul and referred him to the CIA.
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