You might not know the name Marc Turi but if you are familiar with the Benghazi Brief, or more specifically with Operation Zero Footprint, you’ll likely know the issues.
Marc Turi was the guy who constructed the covert weapons shipments into Libya to overthrown Mouamar Gaddaffi (2011) and send weapons to the Libyan Transitional National Government supported by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Under the code name “Zero Footprint” Marc Turi coordinated the flow of weapons from the U.S. through the intermediary of Qatar into Libya.
Those U.S. weapons ended up in Libya and Syria being used by the enemies of the U.S., specifically al-Qaeda. In February of 2012 Asst. Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro admitted the State Department had been attempting to relocate and buy-back those weapons since August of 2011. However, on September 11th 2012, while those efforts were still ongoing, the attacks in Benghazi against the U.S. State Department Ambassador Chris Stevens took place, and four Americans were killed.
In 2014 the DOJ filed charges against Marc Turi essentially for non registered weapons shipments. Turi’s defense was that the weapons were unregistered because the State Department and the CIA needed covert cover. Elements within the CIA confirmed the basic outline for Turi’s assertion.
In 2015 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.
Marc Turi’s legal defense team said if the DOJ was going to prosecute him for the arms shipments, his defense would necessarily reveal how Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was actually the driver of the entire program.
The DOJ tried to claim “national security” issues and keep the aspects relating to the U.S. State Department and Secretary Clinton under wraps during the pre-trial motions. However, a federal judge ruled a few days ago the defense was allowed to use the documented evidence Turi possessed to defend himself.
The case was slated to begin trial on November 8th, the same day as the U.S. presidential election.
As a direct consequence of that ruling, the DOJ announced yesterday they were dropping all the charges. The motive is transparently to protect Hillary Clinton:
[…] 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.” (read more)
The Benghazi Brief
Semi Related: Earlier this year – the Trial of Abu Khatala […] U.S. District Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper of Washington gave notice in a scheduling order issued Thursday for a major terrorism trial in the nation’s capital, roughly five years after the attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others on Sept. 11, 2012.
[ The trial is scheduled for November of 2017 ] While the trial date might slip if unexpected disputes arise, both sides agreed to the calendar, which anticipates several stages of pretrial legal battling – including over how much classified evidence each side seeks to disclose and use.
The trial will be complicated by the backdrop of a chaotic civil war in Libya, which has fed a refugee crisis in Europe and been exploited by militants allied with the Islamic State. Prosecutors have already turned over about 20,000 pages of material to Abu Khattala’s defense; most of it is classified and much of the government’s case remains secret, including what witnesses it might seek to bring from Libya. (more)