Wayne Simmons, the regular “intelligence analyst” on Fox News was just indicted for some very bad stuff:

A Fox News commentator who has been lying for years about working for the Central Intelligence Agency was arrested on Thursday and is being charged in connection with falsely claiming he worked as an “Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer” for the CIA for nearly three decades.

Wayne Simmons, a 62-year-old who lives in Annapolis, Maryland, was arrested by federal authorities following his indictment by a federal grand jury for allegedly committing major fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government. Simmons claims to have worked for the CIA from 1973 to 2000, and “used that false claim in an attempt to obtain government security clearances and work as a defense contractor, including at one point successfully getting deployed overseas as an intelligence advisor to senior military personnel,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.

In court documents, federal prosecutors alleged that Simmons had a “significant criminal history, including convictions for a crime of violence and firearms offenses, and is believed to have had an ongoing association with firearms notwithstanding those felony convictions.” They successfully petitioned a judge to keep Simmons’ indictment sealed until his arrest today, noting that Simmons “has a history of acting in an aggressive manner, and is likely aware of the imminent nature of the charges in this case.”  

WOW! This really makes Brian Williams little fib seem like a paper cut compared to an amputation.

But just how bad is this? Well the video clip posted above is from January and Simmons claiming there are 19 paramilitary Muslim training camps in the US. That’s a claim we’ve heard repeated in the Republican presidential campaigns, including a Trump rally last month. 

And with that, the problem is still even much bigger. We’re not talking about some no-name on-air personality on a little, private network in BFE. No. We are talking about the main intelligence analyst for this nation’s top cable news network. Let that sink in. Didn’t Fox bother to do actual checks on this guy, or were they to awe-struck with the lies he pushed? 

Fox News really needs to answer how then ended up hiring this clown. This is the kind of stuff that congressional investigations are made of. Intentionally misleading the public to possible hurt our war efforts, influence politics, or whatever from an organization that claims to be the “news” is something that deserves absolute scrutiny and oversight. 

(And for more collection of Simmons’ appearances on Faux News, click here)