As I recall, shortly before the Benghazi attack, the Obama administration arranged for the early release from prison for Alamoudi (for plotting to kill the Saudi prince, who is now the King. I am having a memory lapse, but I believe that the Obama administration wanted Alamoudi to help negotiate some kind of arms deal in Libya to get the arms out of the Libyan militants hands and send them to the Turkish border. As I recall, these arms actually originated in Saudi Arabia because Obama didn’t want to ask Congress for the money to pay for the arms that were going to be put into the hands of Libyan militants.
I read that article about the Norquist connection to Alamoudi. I had actually almost forgotten about Norquist, whose firm once represented Alamoudi.
Why Is the Obama Administration Lobbying for the Early Release of a Convicted Terrorist?
The Forbes link referenced here is no longer live (I have retrieved a copy for archiving however), but it reproduces a July 8, 2011 AP piece by Matthew Barakat titled "Prosecutors ask to cut sentence of Muslim activist". Barakat included a few relevant details naming a few individuals involved in the case, which I will reproduce:
The documents explaining why prosecutors want to cut Alamoudi's sentence are under seal, and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria declined to say how many years they are seeking to cut from Alamoudi's term. But such reductions are allowed only when a defendant provides substantial assistance to the government. . .It is not entirely clear whether Alamoudi's cooperation is related to the current upheaval in Libya, but it is clear that Alamoudi had extensive connections with Libyan officials in the years before his arrest. Alamoudi made at least 10 trips to Libya between 2000 and 2003, according to court records, frequently meeting with government officials there. . .Alamoudi's lawyer, Henry St. John Fitzgerald, did not respond a request for comment Friday. . .The government's request for a reduced sentence must be approved by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton. A hearing on the issue had been scheduled for Friday but Hilton canceled the hearing and said he will issue a written ruling based on the papers that have been submitted to him.
So the update to this headline might be, "Obama Administration Lobbied for Release of Boston Bomber Mosque Founder".