Fate of Libyan accused in Benghazi attacks in jury’s hands

WASHINGTON — The terrorism trial of a Libyan militia leader who is accused of plotting the deadly Benghazi attacks concluded in a federal courtroom Thursday, with prosecutors depicting him as a “stonecold terrorist” driven by a rage against Americans.

Ahmed Abu Khatallah was captured by a military team in 2014, interrogated at sea and brought back to the U.S. to face trial on 18 counts, including murder and providing aid to terrorists.

The fiery attacks on Sept. 11, 2012, killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, and spurred years of inquiries and attacks by Republicans aimed at then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“The defendant is guilty as sin. He is a stone-cold terrorist,” said Julieanne Himelstein, a federal prosecutor.

In an emotional closing argument, she said Stevens and the other victims were “American sons” who were targeted by extremists in the chaos that swept Libya after the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

“How dare you?” she said to Khatallah, adding that his goal was to erase U.S. bases that he thought were being used to spy on Libyans. “That’s what he wanted, and he succeeded,” she said.

His defense lawyers described Khatallah as more of a bystander than the commander of the operation, saying he never partic- ipated in the attacks and arrived at the compound after the assault was over.

“This whole t hing doesn’t make a lot of sense,” attorney Michelle Peterson said of one witness account.

A key witness for the government, testifying under the pseudonym Ali Majrisi, won Khatallah’s confidence and led the U.S. to his villa in Benghazi. He was paid $7 million.

“Boy did he get paid well,” Peterson said, describing him as “the $7 million man” and saying he was motivated to lie.

The eight-week trial featured surveillance videos showing militants setting fires and stealing documents, and graphic accounts of mortar attacks on a diplomatic mission and a nearby annex that was used by the CIA. Also killed were Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, former Navy SEALs working as CIA contractors, and the embassy’s information officer, Sean Smith.

But Khatallah only shows up in the videos later, and Peterson said the govern- ment didn’t really have a clear idea who Khatallah was, saying he was the victim of “mistaken identity.” Defense lawyers also argued that Khatallah was improperly deprived of sleep during his nearly two weeks of interrogation.

While the trial was underway, the U.S. seized a second man in Libya and charged him with participating in the attack.

The jury will begin deliberations Monday.