[[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|Ben-Menashe]]'s case pursuant to the [[Criminal Justice Act]] after [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe]] had spent 75 days in jail. He worked to prove that [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe]] was acting on behalf of the [[Israel|Israeli]] government with the knowledge of the [[USA|U.S.]] government, rather than as an illegal arms dealer. He faced challenges due to the [[Israel|Israeli]] government's initial denial of [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe's]] employment and later claims that he was only a low-level translator.[^1] Dunn successfully used [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe's]] 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|Israeli]] government activities. He also called [[Raji Samghabadi]], a *Time* magazine correspondent, as a witness, who confirmed [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe's]] prior knowledge of the [[Iran-Contra Affair]].[^1] Through Dunn's efforts, [[Ari Ben-Menashe|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|Ben-Menashe's]] role as a victim of both the [[USA|U.S.]] and [[Israel|Israeli]] governments' stonewalling and denials.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")