Wayne Simmons, a recurring guest on Fox News who claimed to have 27 years of experience with the CIA, was arrested Thursday after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he lied about his service.
Simmons is accused of falsely claiming that he worked as an “outside paramilitary special operations officer” for the CIA from 1973 to 2000. On Fox, this was often shortened to “former CIA operative.”
He was also indicted for using that false claim to gain government security clearances and an assignment as a defense contractor, where he advised senior military personnel overseas.
Simmons made his initial appearance in court on Thursday afternoon. If convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison on charges of major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government.
Simmons is a familiar face to Fox News viewers. After the arrest was announced on Thursday, Fox News spokesperson Irena Briganti told CNN that he “was never a contributor for Fox News,” and that he appeared on the network only as a non-paid guest. She therefore declined to comment further.
Hmmmm. I don’t know what Fox News means when they say “contributor”, but it seems to me that if he was invited onto Fox News to contribute his “expert” opinion, he was by all definitions a “contributor” and it makes no difference whether he was paid or not.
Some of his Fox News claims: There Are ’19 Paramilitary Muslim Training Facilities’ In The U.S.
But seriously, the indictment is pretty serious, charging him with major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government. The indictment is below the fold….
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