Wayne Simmons Fox News "Terrorism expert" in custody after it was found out he got a real intelligence position based on fictional 27 years of service in the CIA.

[DrAwesome23]

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.

Simmons' web site describes him as a "terrorism analyst" for Fox and a consultant to various government entities.

While it is unknown how often Simmons has appeared on television over the years, Fox's web site lists dozens of appearances and quotes, usually labeling him a former CIA "operative," "analyst" or "officer."

The indictment is a red flag for every television network that relies on the input of analysts based on their supposed credentials. The news industry comes to trust individuals as "specialists" in part because of their own self-promotion and past media appearances.

In his appearances on Fox, Simmons regularly made extreme and factually dubious statements pertaining to terrorism and national security. Just this January, he claimed there were "at least 19 paramilitary Muslim training facilities in the United States."

Simmons also claimed that waterboarding was not torture and accused President Obama of being a novice who lacked spine -- claims that were given greater credence because of the perception that he was a veteran CIA paramilitary officer.

U.S. officials told CNN that there have been suspicions about Simmons's resume and U.S. government agencies have received calls about claims he made on his website about his past work.

But because government security agencies generally do not comment on people who worked for them in certain capacities, that only served to fuel the perception that Simmons had a top-secret background.

In a statement the CIA said it is "working closely with the Justice Department on this matter and we refer you to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia for comment on the charges."

The U.S. Attorney's Office said that along with the CIA-related fraud, "the indictment also alleges that Simmons defrauded an individual victim out of approximately $125,000 in connection with a bogus real estate investment."

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud counts, 10 years in prison on the major fraud against the U.S. counts, and 5 years in prison on the false statements count.

 

Source:

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/15/media/wayne-simmons-tv-commentator-arrested/index.html

Edited October 16, 2015 by DrAwesome23

[devHead]

Let's face it, does FOX News really want someone on there who has an actual clue about anything?  All they're good at is spreading FUD.  I would imagine anyone with such a record for the CIA would pretty much avoid the brain-dead morons of FOX News.

[DrAwesome23]

This guy is a piece of work, here is what he has listed about his "career" in the intelligence community.

Wayne joined the U.S. Navy in 1973 where he was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency to became part of an Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Group. He spearheaded Deep Cover Intel Ops against some of the world's most dangerous Drug Cartels and arms smugglers from Central and South America and the Middle East . Simmons has been a Terrorism Analyst for the Fox News Channel since 2002. In 2004, under the direction of Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, he became a part of the Pentagon Outreach Program for Military and Intelligence Analysts. Simmons was one of the first outside Intelligence officers to visit GITMO  (Guantanamo Bay , Cuba ) in July, 2005 and again in July, 2006 and March, 2008. In July, 2006 Simmons was given the distinguished honor to serve as a consultant to the Bush White House to assist in the construction of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which was signed into law by President Bush in October 2006. In 2008 Simmons came out of retirement and trained as Team Leader of the HTT, Human Terrain Team’s, that were scheduled to deploy in Afghanistan. In 2010 Simmons served as the S-2, for the Counter Insurgency Advisory and Assistance Team, CAAT, at ISAF HQ, Kabul, Afghanistan. In 2014 Wayne had the honor of becoming a member of the Citizens Commission on Benghazi a position he still holds. He has written a novel, The NATANZ DIRECTIVE  to which the movie rights were purchased by PATRIOT PICTURES LLC, for production in 2016. Wayne is the sole inventor and PATENT holder of the Fraud Prevention Software, HADRiAN. He is currently the CEO of Securus LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company.

Source: http://www.waynesimmons.us/

Even Donald Rumsfeld bought his B.S.

[DocM]

From a CNN story,

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/15/media/wayne-simmons-tv-commentator-arrested/

 

U.S. officials told CNN that there have been suspicions about Simmons's resume and U.S. government agencies have received calls about claims he made on his website about his past work.

But because government security agencies generally do not comment on people who worked for them in certain capacities, that only served to fuel the perception that Simmons had a top-secret background.

 

If it took so long for the US government to figure out his deception because 'spooks don't talk,' how in hell are the networks and publications he's been interviewed by supposed to do it? He's not the first to do this, it's a qualifications problem throughout the professions.

 

[PGHammer]

From a CNN story,

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/15/media/wayne-simmons-tv-commentator-arrested/

 

 

If it took so long for the US government to figure out his deception because 'spooks don't talk,' how in hell are the networks and publications he's been interviewed by (not just Fox) supposed to do it? He's not the first to do this, it's a qualifications problem throughout the professions.

 

All too true - MILITARY qualifications are far easier to vet.

[DrAwesome23]

From a CNN story,

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/15/media/wayne-simmons-tv-commentator-arrested/

 

 

If it took so long for the US government to figure out his deception because 'spooks don't talk,' how in hell are the networks and publications he's been interviewed by supposed to do it? He's not the first to do this, it's a qualifications problem throughout the professions.

 

What bothers me is the government didn't verify his story when they gave him the security adviser position. Even though spooks don't talk, whatever department of the government hands out security clearances should have been able to vet his story.