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Dunn was assigned to Ben-Menashe's case pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act after Ben-Menashe had spent 75 days in jail. |
Thomas F.X. Dunn was a New York-born, Irish-Catholic lawyer who represented Ari Ben-Menashe during his trial for conspiracy to sell C-130 aircraft to Iran. Despite his initial lack of knowledge about the Middle East, Israel, or the international intelligence scene, he developed a deep understanding of the complex case.1
Dunn was assigned to Ari Ben-Menashe's case pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act after Ari Ben-Menashe had spent 75 days in jail. He worked to prove that Ari Ben-Menashe was acting on behalf of the Israel government with the knowledge of the United States government, rather than as an illegal arms dealer. He faced challenges due to the Israel government's initial denial of Ari Ben-Menashe employment and later claims that he was only a low-level translator.1
Dunn successfully used Ari Ben-Menashe employment records, including performance reports and letters of recommendation from his superiors (Col. Pesah Melowany and Col. Arieh Shur), to demonstrate his high-level involvement in Israel government activities. He also called Raji Samghabadi, a Time magazine correspondent, as a witness, who confirmed Ari Ben-Menashe prior knowledge of the Iran-Contra Affair.1
Through Dunn's efforts, Ari Ben-Menashe was released on bail after 11 months and three weeks in jail, and ultimately found not guilty. Dunn's summation to the jury highlighted Ari Ben-Menashe role as a victim of both the United States and Israel governments' stonewalling and denials.1
Footnotes
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Ben-Menashe, Ari. Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. Sheridan Square Press, 1992 (TrineDay reprint, 2015). ↩︎