A
Amos Nandy
Guest
US: Saddam paid for lawmakers' Iraq trip
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer 27 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a
trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the
U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
The three anti-war Democrats made the trip in October 2002, while the
Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize
military action against Iraq. While traveling, they called for a
diplomatic solution.
Prosecutors say that trip was arranged by Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a
Michigan charity official, who was charged Wednesday with setting up
the junket at the behest of Saddam's regime. Iraqi intelligence
officials allegedly paid for the trip through an intermediary and
rewarded Al-Hanooti with 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.
The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond
to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David
Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. None was charged
and Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said investigators "have no
information whatsoever" any of them knew the trip was underwritten by
Saddam.
"Obviously, we didn't know it at the time," McDermott spokesman
Michael DeCesare said Wednesday. "The trip was to see the plight of
the Iraqi children. That's the only reason we went."
Both McDermott and Thompson are popular among liberal voters in their
reliably Democratic districts for their anti-war views. Bonior is no
longer in Congress.
Thompson released a statement Wednesday saying the trip was approved
by the State Department.
"Obviously, had there been any question at all regarding the sponsor
of the trip or the funding, I would not have participated," he said.
During the trip, the lawmakers expressed skepticism about the Bush
administration's claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass
destruction. Though such weapons ultimately were never found, the
lawmakers drew criticism for their trip at the time.
Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, then the second-ranking Senate Republican,
said the Democrats "sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi
government." Seattle-area conservatives dubbed McDermott "Baghdad Jim"
for the Iraq trip.
Al-Hanooti was arrested Tuesday night while returning to the U.S. from
the Middle East, where he was looking for a job, his attorney, James
Thomas, said. Al-Hanooti pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of
conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government,
illegally purchasing Iraqi oil and lying to authorities. He was being
held on $100,000 bail.
Between 1999 and 2006, he worked on and off as a public relations
coordinator for Life for Relief and Development, a charity formed
after the first Gulf War to fund humanitarian work in Iraq. FBI and
Joint Terrorism Task Force agents raided the charity's headquarters in
2006 but charged nobody and allowed the agency to continue operating.
McDermott identified that charity as the group financing the Iraq
trip. In House disclosure forms, he put the cost at $5,510. Thompson
also understood the charity to be financing the trip, spokeswoman Anne
Warden said.
Prosecutors said Al-Hanooti was responsible for monitoring Congress
for the Iraqi Intelligence Service. From 1999 to 2002, he allegedly
provided Saddam's government with a list of U.S. lawmakers he believed
favored lifting economic sanctions against Iraq.
Thomas said Al-Hanooti would "vigorously defend" himself against the
charges but he could not discuss the specifics of the case since he
had seen none of the evidence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_re_us/iraq_junket_15
IF YOU DON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN YOU'RE VOTING FOR TERRORISM!
Clinton is a proven liar and Obama is a MUSLIM TERROIST SUPPORTER. Ask
his preacher.
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer 27 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a
trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the
U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
The three anti-war Democrats made the trip in October 2002, while the
Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize
military action against Iraq. While traveling, they called for a
diplomatic solution.
Prosecutors say that trip was arranged by Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a
Michigan charity official, who was charged Wednesday with setting up
the junket at the behest of Saddam's regime. Iraqi intelligence
officials allegedly paid for the trip through an intermediary and
rewarded Al-Hanooti with 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.
The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond
to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David
Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. None was charged
and Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said investigators "have no
information whatsoever" any of them knew the trip was underwritten by
Saddam.
"Obviously, we didn't know it at the time," McDermott spokesman
Michael DeCesare said Wednesday. "The trip was to see the plight of
the Iraqi children. That's the only reason we went."
Both McDermott and Thompson are popular among liberal voters in their
reliably Democratic districts for their anti-war views. Bonior is no
longer in Congress.
Thompson released a statement Wednesday saying the trip was approved
by the State Department.
"Obviously, had there been any question at all regarding the sponsor
of the trip or the funding, I would not have participated," he said.
During the trip, the lawmakers expressed skepticism about the Bush
administration's claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass
destruction. Though such weapons ultimately were never found, the
lawmakers drew criticism for their trip at the time.
Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, then the second-ranking Senate Republican,
said the Democrats "sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi
government." Seattle-area conservatives dubbed McDermott "Baghdad Jim"
for the Iraq trip.
Al-Hanooti was arrested Tuesday night while returning to the U.S. from
the Middle East, where he was looking for a job, his attorney, James
Thomas, said. Al-Hanooti pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of
conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government,
illegally purchasing Iraqi oil and lying to authorities. He was being
held on $100,000 bail.
Between 1999 and 2006, he worked on and off as a public relations
coordinator for Life for Relief and Development, a charity formed
after the first Gulf War to fund humanitarian work in Iraq. FBI and
Joint Terrorism Task Force agents raided the charity's headquarters in
2006 but charged nobody and allowed the agency to continue operating.
McDermott identified that charity as the group financing the Iraq
trip. In House disclosure forms, he put the cost at $5,510. Thompson
also understood the charity to be financing the trip, spokeswoman Anne
Warden said.
Prosecutors said Al-Hanooti was responsible for monitoring Congress
for the Iraqi Intelligence Service. From 1999 to 2002, he allegedly
provided Saddam's government with a list of U.S. lawmakers he believed
favored lifting economic sanctions against Iraq.
Thomas said Al-Hanooti would "vigorously defend" himself against the
charges but he could not discuss the specifics of the case since he
had seen none of the evidence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_re_us/iraq_junket_15
IF YOU DON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN YOU'RE VOTING FOR TERRORISM!
Clinton is a proven liar and Obama is a MUSLIM TERROIST SUPPORTER. Ask
his preacher.
