ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) \u2014 Federal prosecutors say a Maryland man who offered national-security commentary on Fox News has been charged with fraud for falsely claiming a CIA career.<\/p>\n
Authorities say they arrested 62-year-old Wayne Simmons of Annapolis on Thursday and charged him with fraud against the U.S. and making false statements to the government.<\/p>\n
An indictment states Simmons lied about having a 27-year career with the CIA as an \u201cOutside Paramilitary Special Operations\u201d officer. The indictment alleges that Simmons made the claim as he sought security clearances and in seeking work as a defense contractor.<\/p>\n
As recently as April, Simmons was identified on air on Fox radio as a \u201cFox News contributor.\u201d In a 2009 Fox News clip, he calls House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi \u201ca pathological liar\u201d in a segment about CIA interrogation techniques.<\/p>\n
A Fox News spokeswoman, Carly Shanahan, said Simmons was never more than a guest on the network and that the reference to him on air as \u201cFox News contributor\u201d was an error. \u201cHe was never a paid commentator,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
At an initial appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Simmons was ordered held pending a detention hearing Friday. No lawyer has yet entered an appearance on his behalf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"