March 11, 2004

WERE ALL ANTI-WARRIORS CORRUPT?

Md. Woman Accused of Acting as Iraqi Agent (William Branigin, Washington Post, 3/11/04)

Federal agents today arrested a Maryland woman at her home on charges of acting as an agent for the Iraqi government of former president Saddam Hussein and plotting to aid resistance groups in Iraq after Hussein was ousted by U.S. forces.

Susan Lindauer, 40, a former journalist and congressional aide in Washington, was taken into custody by the FBI at her home in Takoma Park after federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against her and two Iraqis, the sons of a former diplomat, who were charged with similar offenses.
Lockerbie Trial Document: Susan Lindauer Deposition, 4 December 1998
Last month, MEIB reported that Dr. Richard Fuisz, a major CIA operative in Syria during the 1980s, met with a congressional staffer by the name of Susan Lindauer in 1994 and told her that that the perpetrators of the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland were based in Syria [see "The Lockerbie Bombing Trial: Is Libya Being Framed?" Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, June 2000]. One month after their meeting, the Clinton administration, which holds Libya responsible for the bombing, placed a gag order on Dr. Fuisz to prevent him from publicly discussing the issue.

While Dr. Fuisz is still unable to comment on this matter because of the gag order, MEIB has obtained a copy of a formal deposition filed by Lindauer in 1998 in which she recounts this conversation in detail. This deposition (see below) has been submitted to the court in which two Libyan suspects are currently on trial and to U.N. officials, who have attempted to persuade the Clinton administration to lift the gag order on Dr. Fuisz.

Lindauer says that she has been subject to intense surveillance, threats, and attacks since she began meeting with Libyan officials in 1995 to discuss her knowledge of the Lockerbie bombing. "Someone put acid on the steering wheel of my car on a day I was supposed to drive to NYC for a meeting at the Libya House. I scrubbed my hands with a toilet brush, but my face was burned so badly that 3 weeks later friends worried I might be badly scarred," Lindauer told MEIB. "Also, my house was bugged with listening devices and cameras -- little red laser lights in the shower vent. And I survived several assassination attempts."

She has agreed to publish her email address, slndau@aol.com, along with this deposition so that journalists, researchers and others interested in learning more about this issue can contact her.

Senator to speak at SIUC (Donita Polly, SIUC Daily Egyption)
Defending civil rights and protecting affirmative action policies are important because these issues affect the country's future, a spokeswoman for Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Illinois, says.

"Civil Rights Under Fire" is the topic for a speech to be given by Moseley-Braun on campus tonight. The speech will focus on affirmative action as a way for people to fulfill their job potentials, Susan Lindauer, spokeswoman for Moseley-Braun, said

Revolving Door (September 1993 MediaWatch)
Three West Coast Democrats have tapped media veterans to fill Press Secretary slots in their Capitol Hill offices, Roll Call reported. Oregon's Peter DeFazio chose Susan Lindauer, a reporter for U.S. News & World Report in 1990-91.
Signers of the PEACE PLEDGE: TO STOP SPREAD OF ANTI-TERRORIST WAR TO IRAQ
Susan Lindauer, Takoma Park, MD, US
From: "Susan Lindauer" [slindauer40 at hotmail.com]
Subject: Fwd: US Troops Decide to Charge Money for Water to Penniless Iraqis In Um Qasr
Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2003 15:57:34 -0500
Coming Soon: Fed TV (Brian Friel, GovExec.com, 2/2/98)
The legislative branch has C-SPAN. The judicial branch has Court TV. But the executive branch has no home on the television airwaves.

Until now. Coming soon to a television near you (if you're in the Washington area), channel 28, the "Information Super Station," will broadcast live feeds of federal news events across the capital city to government managers and government junkies alike. . . .

"We're bringing down the walls of government," says Susan Lindauer, the station's executive producer for political affairs, who is in charge of getting agencies on the program schedule. "Government executives will be able to watch the president, watch other agencies, and watch themselves." . . .

"We expect to be a positive force," she says. "We will encourage the public to claim ownership of the federal government."


Posted by David Cohen at March 11, 2004 3:34 PM
Comments

"Red laser lights in the shower vent"? "Survived several assassination attempts"? Either government agents are even more incompetent than their worst critics allege, or this woman is a fantasist.

Posted by: PapayaSF at March 11, 2004 4:03 PM

You think?

(By the way, I note with amusement that she is charged with the same crime of making false statements as Martha Stewart. The indictment is here.)

Posted by: David Cohen at March 11, 2004 4:25 PM

How many paragraphs into the story do you need to read to find out she worked for numerous Dem legislators (most of them on the real Left wing of the party)? Ten or so. Oh they would have done the same had it been a "Rep"....

Posted by: MG at March 11, 2004 5:02 PM

The cherry on the topping was her comments shouted out to the press during her perp walk.

Posted by: Fred Jacobsen at March 11, 2004 5:46 PM

Sound bite on NPR from a neighbor said she fitted right into Takoma Park, which the reporter described as heavy on peace activists.

NPR is circling the wagons, too, with lengthy commentary from a law prof in Michigan about how weak the indictment is.

Posted by: Harry Eagar at March 11, 2004 6:39 PM

The NPR report, which for the time being can be found here, is an amazing attempt to minimize the charges. It was only $10,000, it was only repaying some expenses, it just doesn't make sense, she's just some poor misguided peacenik, etc. I wonder how much it costs to hire NPR as defense counsel?

Posted by: David Cohen at March 11, 2004 7:39 PM

What kind of information would she have been able to give to the Iraqis? Did she have access to any classified material in her job as a congressional staffer?

Wasn't Billy Carter an agent for Libya while his brother was president? How is it that liberals have no compunction about working for dictatorial regimes?

Posted by: Robert Duquette at March 11, 2004 9:11 PM

I wonder how many other former and present Capitol Hill staffers there are who share Ms. Lindauer's credentials, beliefs and activities.

Posted by: Brooks at March 11, 2004 9:38 PM

"And so let it be understood by the court: I make these statements of my own free will, out of respect to my own conscience and sense of obligation as a world citizen."

Perfect: the vision of World Government, unfortunately shared by many people who imagine themselves to be conservative.

Posted by: Paul Cella at March 12, 2004 9:12 AM

Robert, Billy was no liberal.

Also, I cannot remember whether that was the era before you had to register as a foreign agent or not. He, I believe, registered.

I am not clear whether it is even possible to register with a government that our government does not have diplomatic relations with.

Anyhow, as I understand it, she is being charged with lying about being an unregistered agent.

Posted by: Harry Eagar at March 12, 2004 12:42 PM
« EUROPE FINALLY GETS A 9-11 OF ITS OWN?: | Main | LEGISLATING UNDER THE INFLUENCE (via Bob Tremblay): »