Feds Arrest Fox News Commentator, Allege He Lied About CIA Past
WASHINGTON -- A Fox News commentator who has been lying for years about working for the Central Intelligence Agency was arrested on Thursday and is being charged in connection with falsely claiming he worked as an “Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer” for the CIA for nearly three decades.
Wayne Simmons, a 62-year-old who lives in Annapolis, Maryland, was arrested by federal authorities following his indictment by a federal grand jury for allegedly committing major fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government. Simmons claims to have worked for the CIA from 1973 to 2000, and "used that false claim in an attempt to obtain government security clearances and work as a defense contractor, including at one point successfully getting deployed overseas as an intelligence advisor to senior military personnel," according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
In court documents, federal prosecutors alleged that Simmons had a "significant criminal history, including convictions for a crime of violence and firearms offenses, and is believed to have had an ongoing association with firearms notwithstanding those felony convictions." They successfully petitioned a judge to keep Simmons' indictment sealed until his arrest today, noting that Simmons "has a history of acting in an aggressive manner, and is likely aware of the imminent nature of the charges in this case."
Simmons has been interviewed by Sean Hannity, Neil Cavuto and has appeared on "Fox & Friends." He has discussed a wide range of issues on the network, including CIA interrogation techniques and, ironically, a former CIA official found guilty on fraud charges. He is a member of the "Citizens Commission on Benghazi," a panel created by the conservative media organization Accuracy in Media that has trafficked in in conspiracy theories about the 2012 attack on a U.S. compound in Libya, in which several officials were killed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wayne-simmons-arrest-cia_561fd787e4b028dd7ea6fd43?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
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