Justice Department drops case against arms trader who 'sold weapons to Libyan rebels' after he threatened to expose Obama and Clinton's role in arming extremists 

• e-mail

Marc Turi (pictured) has walked free after the Obama administration dropped charges against the arms dealer

An arms dealer who allegedly sold weapons to rebels in Libya has walked free after the Obama administration dropped charges amid claims the White House was worried about the trial showing Hillary Clinton in a negative light.

Federal prosecutors had faced a deadline of today to turn over discovery documents to Marc Turi's legal team after he had been charged with selling weapons to Libyan rebels. A trial was scheduled for November 8, the same day as the Presidential Election.

But late on Tuesday, the Obama administration dropped the case. 

'I am glad this horrific five-year ordeal is over and I am pleased to be able to move on with my life,' Mr Turi told Fox News. 'The American public has the right to know that an injustice was committed against an innocent American.' 

He added that defending himself had taken away his life as well as his money and company.

'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 thatw ill be held accountable.' 

Critics say the deal will avert a trial which could have cast more scrutiny on Hillary Clinton's private emails as Secretary of State and would have shed an uncomfortable amount of light on the CIA's attempts to fund rebels who fought Colonel Gaddafi.

An associate of Mr Turo told Politico: 'They don't want this stuff to come out because it will look really bad for Obama and (Hillary) Clinton just before the election.'

Barack Obama will be leaving the White House in January but he has been accused of dropping the case against Marc Turi for fear it would show Hillary Clinton's flaws as Secretary of State 

Sigh of relief? Clinton exhales as she sits down for another session of testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi

Mrs Clinton has already attracted significant flak from Donald Trump for her handling of the Benghazi episode, in which Islamist militants killed 11 people - four of them Americans - when they attacked the US consulate in the Libyan city in 2012. Mr Trump accused Lester Holt, the moderator of the first presidential debate, of letting Mrs Clinton off when it came to Benghazi.

One of Mr Turi's lawyer, Jean-Jacques Cabou, told Politico: 'Our position from the outset has been that this case never should have been brought and we're glad it's over.

'Mr Turi didn't break the law… We're very glad the charges are being dismissed.' 

Libyan rebels secure a checkpoint on a road east of Tripoli in September 2011. Mr Turi was accused of selling weapons to the rebels with the authorization of the State Department

Details of Mr Turi's defense remain mired in secrecy with prosecutors saying 'discovery rulings' by US District Court Judge David Campbell led to the decision to drop the case. 

A joint motion by both sets of lawyers asks Judge Campbell to accept a confidential agreement to resolve the case through a civil settlement between the State Department and Mr Turi.

As a result Mr Turi admitted no guilt in the transactions he participated in and escaped a $200,000 fine, but agreed to refrain from arms dealing for four years.  

A State Department official told Politico: 'Mr Turi cooperated with the Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in its review and proposed administrative settlement of the alleged violations.'

Mrs Clinton (pictured, with her husband Bill) has admitted she made mistakes over her State Department emails but Mr Trump has insisted she releases all 33,000 emails

But Robert Stryk, from the consulting firm SPG, accused the Obama administration of trying to turn Mr Turi into a scapegoat in order to cover up Mrs Clinton's mishandling of the civil war in Libya.

He said: 'The US government spent millions of dollars, went all over the world to bankrupt him, and destroyed his life, all to protect Hillary Clinton's crimes.'

His attorneys say the arms provided by Mr Turi were authorized by the US government as part of an effort to arm Libyan rebels. It is not suggested the weapons fell into the hands of the group, Ansar al-Sharia, who were behind the Benghazi attack.

Turi was indicted in 2014 on charges of arms dealing in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and lying to the State Department in official applications, with prosecutors arguing that he falsely claimed the weapons were destined for Qatar and the UAE. 

WILL WE GET TO THE BOTTOM OF WHAT HAPPENED IN LIBYA?

A gunman waves his weapon as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after the US consulate in Benghazi was attacked in September 2012

In February 2011, inspired by the 'Arab spring' revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, violent protests against the dictator, Colonel Gaddafi, broke out in Benghazi.

By March rebels in the east of Libya were engaged in a full-on civil war with forces loyal to Gaddafi and the UN Security Council authorizes a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians from air strikes.

In July 2011 the National Transitional Council was recognized by the West as the legitimate government of Libya.

In August 2011, as his forces retreat, Gaddafi went into hiding and his wife flees to Algeria. 

On 20 October 2011 Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebels in his hometown, Sirte.

But the new Libyan government struggled to keep the country together and in September 2012 Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador, and three other Americans are killed when Islamist militants storm the consulate in Benghazi.

In January 2014 the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence delivered a bipartisan report on the attacks and ruled they were 'preventable'.

In August this year, about 30 emails that may be related to the attack on the Benghazi compound were among thousands of Hillary Clinton emails recovered during the investigation into her use of a private server.