Reports: First charges filed in Benghazi attack

8/6/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — News reports say the Justice Department has filed the first criminal charges in the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

CNN, NBC News and The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday that unspecified counts had been filed in the 2012 attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. CNN said the charges named Ahmed Abu Khattalah, a Libyan militia leader. The Journal said charges were filed against more than one person.

The Justice Department called the investigation a top priority but would not confirm the reports. The Obama Administration has come under fire for the lack of charges. Conservatives have accused the White House of covering up failures that led to the attack, including by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a possible presidential candidate.