Donald Trump reportedly rented out an Iowa theater recently to screen "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," the new movie that chronicles the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, Islamist terror attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya.
"Mr. Trump would like all Americans to know the truth about what happened at Benghazi," the GOP front-runner’s Iowa co-chair Tana Goertz said Thursday night,
The Des Moines Register reported.
"The theater is paid for. The tickets are paid for. You just have to RSVP," she added.
The new movie from famed director Michael Bay is based on the book of the same name by Mitchell Zuckoff, and stars actor John Krasinski of "The Office" fame as Jack Silva, one member of the diplomatic compound's Global Response Staff, security contractors working for the CIA.
Four men ultimately died in the attack, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, as well as CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty.
Politico reported that the film has reignited "the politically explosive allegation that commandos called to defend the U.S. compound were told to 'stand down'" on the night of the attack.
The Obama administration and former Secretary Hillary Clinton's State Department have denied any such order was given, however former Special Forces Officer Kris Paronto, one of the CIA contractors who fought that night, is among those who maintain that such an order was, in fact, delivered.
"We were told to 'stand down,'" Paronto said in an interview with Politico. "Those words were used verbatim — 100 percent . . . If the truth of it affects someone’s political career? Well, I’m sorry. It happens."
The Benghazi attack has long dogged Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, with critics saying the deadly incident could have been prevented, and that Clinton lied to the families of the victims when she told them the attack stemmed from a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islam video. Subsequent investigations would show that the attack was planned and premeditated.
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