Fox News Analyst Arrested for Lying About Working as a CIA Agent

theguardian.com ^ | October 16, 2015

[Helicondelta]

A Fox News guest terrorism analyst was arrested on Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on charges of falsely claiming to have been a CIA agent for decades, US prosecutors said.

Wayne Simmons, 62, of Annapolis, Maryland, bogusly portrayed himself as an “Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer” for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1973 to 2000, the US Attorney’s Office for Virginia’s Eastern District said in a statement.

Simmons allegedly tried to use that claim to get government security clearances and work as a defense contractor. At one point he was deployed overseas as an intelligence adviser to senior military officers, the statement said.

He faces charges of major fraud against the United States, wire fraud and making false statements to the government.

He has appeared on Fox News, a unit of 21st Century Fox Inc , as a guest analyst on terrorism since 2002 and has a wide presence among conservative groups, a profile on Amazon.com said.

[free-in-nyc]

"bogusly portrayed himself..."

I think I just learned a new word - if it is a word...

[dp0622]

is that true? i’m very gullible lol

[paratrooper82]

All he had to do is say he was in the country illegally and he would have kept his job and the investigation would have been dropped since it would be “profiling” to ask anyone in this country illegally where they come from or what they do in this country!

[Bob434]

lol no- He’s in deep doo doo no doubt- but only because he worked for Fox- if he worked for msnbc or something, they wouldn’t even be investigating or arresting im

[Bob434]

it most Yesly is a word

[lewislynn]

Hey, that’s Gerald McRaney

[lewislynn]

It wouldn’t bother me if they were all arrested.

[piasa]

Claiming to have been sent to Niger by Dick Cheney when in fact you were not and were instead sent by your 2nd wife, whose claim to fame was being a super-duper deep cover operative while being on maternity leave from a desk job at the CIA, meanwhile, appears to be legal.

[SteveH]

It is a crime to pretend to be a police officer, but I am not aware of a law that says it is a crime to claim to be CIA falsely. What is that law, specifically?

[piasa]

Evidently he wrote a book called “The Third Jihad.”

Don’t know who published it ...

[piasa]

Evidently he wrote a book called “The Third Jihad.”

Don’t know who published it ...

Scratch that, maybe he was in a video called “The Third Jihad”

Haven’t seen it but CAIR evidently doesn’t like it.

[Jane Long]

Lol!! I'd forgotten all about that Gong Show/CIA guy 😂😂

[Red in Blue PA]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Moltke]

making false statements to the government.

That's rich. Governments lie to the people all day long, and no one ever gets arrested for that.

[ETL]

"He faces charges of major fraud against the United States, wire fraud and making false statements to the government."

Didn't Obama claim to be an American patriot who loved the country? Any president who truly loves the US would not seek to "fundamentally transform" it.

[Alberta's Child]

That stupid "Stolen Valor Act" was justifiably overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Wearing a uniform and medals -- and even falsely claiming that you are a veteran -- shouldn't be a crime in and of itself. The law was useless political pandering because there are already plenty of laws on the books to prosecute people who do things like that for the purpose of fraud. It looks like this guy is being prosecuted under those very statutes:

He faces charges of major fraud against the United States, wire fraud and making false statements to the government.

[ETL]

On Dec 29, 2009, Wayne Simmons gave a TV interview, on which he stated “Islamic Terrorists do not fear the “Boy King” Obama!” He has often referred to the 2008 election as “The Coronation of The Boy King.” My guess is Simmons has been on the White House radar and Enemy List ever since those broadcasts. Now they get to give him the Petraeus Treatment.

I've seen him many times on FoxNews. The guy was good.

[riverrunner]

Maybe to good when one can break a law unknowingly 3 or 4 times a day.

When they want you they can get you.

[Lady Heron]

Am I the only one that thinks if this guy was on the news back in 2002 lying about his CIA employment they would have done something back then if he was not employed by them? Why wait 13 years? Sort of throws up a red flag to think about.

[Mach9]

This is just a bit too convenient to be true. Looks like a set-up, especially the gun-charge claims. Between state and federal laws, DOJ can manufacture a charge against just about any gun-owner. I want to hear the other side of the story.