Benghazi suspect enters not guilty plea

A Libyan man accused of participating in the September 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi pleaded not guilty Monday to 17 new charges related to the incident, including some that carry the death penalty.

Ahmed Abu Khatallah appeared at a brief hearing in Washington D.C. wearing a green prison jumpsuit with his hair trimmed but long beard intact. He did not speak, and his lawyer, public defender Michelle Peterson, entered the plea on Abu Khatallah’s behalf.

Peterson said she is waiting for the Justice Department to turn over additional material — much of it classified — on the charges her client faces. The next court date in the case was set for Dec. 9.

On Monday, federal prosecutor Michael DiLorenzo also appeared to leave open the possibility that the government may charge additional defendants in the case. When asked by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper whether the prosecution would remain a one-defendant case, DiLorenzo said only that the investigation was ongoing.

Abu Khattala is the first person to be prosecuted for the Benghazi attacks.

DiLorenzo sparred with Peterson over whether the government was turning over enough information about the case, and whether officials were unnecessarily redacting documents.

DiLorenzo said Khatallah's lawyers had received between 60 and 80 percent of the evidence in the possession of the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, which is prosecuting the case. 

Peterson dismissed that estimate as "completely inappropriate." "We should have everything they have," she said, instead of a partial amount. 

DiLorenzo said the government so far has provided the defense with 150 hours of videotape and 4,000 pages of documents. 

Abu Khattala's lawyer previously said the government has failed to show that his client was connected to the attacks.

Abu Khatallah was captured in Libya in June by a U.S. military and FBI team and transported to the United States aboard a U.S. Navy ship to face an indictment in Washington federal court that accused him of conspiring to support terrorists.

Four Americans were killed in the September 2012 attack, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. The attack ignited a political firestorm in Washington that could still flare if Hillary Clinton, secretary of state at the time, runs for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Republicans accused Clinton of failing to put in place security measures to protect U.S. personnel in Libya.

Prosecutors brought the new charges against Khatallah last week, including murder of an "internationally protected person," and killing a person during an attack on a federal facility in an attack involving the use of a firearm.

The judge has not indicated when the case might go to trial.

Wire services