US: Saddam Paid for Lawmakers' Iraq Trip

[qrayjack]

US: Saddam Paid for Lawmakers' Iraq Trip
By MATT APUZZO

WASHINGTON (AP) - 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.

An indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam's regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary.

At the time, the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq.

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. MORE

*No surprise. Saddam knew who his friends were even then.

[schillerbjr]

Jim McDermott (D-WA), David Bonior (D-MI),
and Mike Thompson (D-CA) should all be tried
as "TRAITORS" to America!!

These people make me want to "PUKE"!!

[MamaCat]

This kind of thing is getting to be so common anymore that there's little shock value. No congressman should make ANY trips paid for by anyone other than himself of what is legally allowed by his position and paid by the govt.
We have too many independent agents trying to get their nose in the business of the State Department. That is not the job of senators or congressmen.

[wetcougar]

All three of these Congressmen need to be defeated! I don't know about two of the three, but we do have a great conservative battling to replace "Baghdad" Jim McDermott here in the heart of liberal Seattle. Steve Beren is defending solid conservative solutions to the challenges facing our country and working day and night to retire McDermott. It's a tough race and frankly, for Beren to win he needs support from conservative activists all around the country. As activists, we need to invest some conservative seed capitol if we want to get rid of ultra-libs like McDermott. So, please go to www.BerenforCongress .com and send some help. Every dollar you invest with Beren will force the libs to spend $10 to defend him.

[candles]

I do not believe they did not know who was paying for their trip to Iraq. The were working hard to stop Bush from going into Iraq, making excuses as time went along.

[Whitetop]

Old Baghdady Jim just can't keep his "Hate America" feelings under wraps. He and his compatriots need to be tried for treason. Apparently it is not politically correct to try anyone for treason in this country any more. Wasn't old Jim the one who proudly announced the US Government was tracking OBL by his cell phone calls. All of a sudden this tracking system was no longer available to us. Maybe he just forgot to pay his bill and got his service cut off.

[elmerck1]

Everyone should write their congressman or woman, and tell them to go to the leaders and demand the two left be removed from all committees because they are security risks. We cannot have people like that handling classified docs. and reading secret documents. I have known all along that Mc Dermott was a sorry piece of human flesh, and this proves it. Next, we have to get the new ethics committee to investigate them.

[Amawalk John]

I'm surprised that our legislators accept such trips -- or anything else, for that matter -- without knowing who's paying for it. They certainly have the staff and other resources to find out and it's all done on the public's dime.

Infractions like this should be an automatic expulsion from congress with loss of all benefits.

[gmitchell]

Unfortunately David Bonior WAS my congressman.
Thank God no longer!
Last I heard he was on the board of directors at a local bank here in Michigan which I might add I would never deal with. He was a member of the (don't recall the name) but it was something like Socialist of the Democratic Party or something like that.

Greg

[rangerrebew]

It was, and is, the socialist democrats of the U.S. politburo. The leading member of this "elite" group is Grandma Pelosssssssssss:snak e: i.