Accused Iraq Spy "Incompetent" For Trial

Judge: U.S. Woman Accused Of Helping Saddam-Era Spy Agency Is Mentally Unfit

(AP)  A former congressional aide accused of helping an Iraqi spy agency while Saddam Hussein was in power is mentally unfit for trial, a judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska announced her finding late Monday in the case of Susan Lindauer, who was arrested in 2004 on charges including conspiring to act as a spy for the Iraqi intelligence service. The charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to 25 years.

Lindauer, 45, had worked in the press offices of several members of Congress and as a magazine journalist.

Preska said she based her decision largely on the testimony of psychiatrist Stuart Kleinman, who was brought into the case by prosecutors.

"I agree with Dr. Kleinman's evaluation that Ms. Lindauer continues to suffer from a mental disorder which so impairs her thinking ... that she remains incompetent to stand trial," the judge said.

Kleinman said Lindauer has a serious, long-standing mental disorder that includes grandiose delusions, such as the belief that Osama bin Laden told her about a hidden bomb.

Rebekah Carmichael, a spokeswoman for prosecutors, said the office had no comment. A hearing was scheduled for October to decide what happens next in the case.

Her lawyer, Brian William Shaughnessy, said his client "was disappointed." Lindauer, who has said she wanted to clear her name, said that it was "terribly wrong" that she was not being allowed to go to trial.

She was jailed for about a year but was released from custody in 2006 after another judge ruled that the government couldn't force her to be medicated for her delusions so she could stand trial.

In agreeing with the psychiatrist's finding, Preska noted the defendant once stuffed tissues into her mouth when she was admonished not to speak out during a hearing without consulting her lawyer.

Lindauer is a distant relative of President Bush's former chief of staff Andrew Card. She also has worked in the press offices of four Democratic members of Congress and as a journalist for two magazines, two newspapers and a television news company.

Her father, John Lindauer, once owned an Alaska newspaper chain and ran for the state's governorship in 1998.

[SamThornton]

Odd that prosecution, rather than defense lawyers, brought up the competency issue. Although not mentioned in the article, even odder facts are the reasons the prosecution cited. From a related Independent News article:

"The prosecution argued that she was unfit to stand trial for two reasons: she believed that she was not guilty and she was therefore unable to contribute to her defense since she didn%u2019t understand that she might be convicted. Her failure to accept guilt by denying what the prosecution called delusions somehow proved mental incompetence."

There may be either more or less to this story than meets the eye. Might make a great novel.

[random_radar]

Mentally unfit to stand trial, but still able to work as a journalist and congressional staffer. Yes, there is a certain rational logic to that...

[lochlan-2009]

She sure is reasonably well connected. She''s been booted from the loop, most likely for her ethical stance on something these crooks have done, but is too connected to go down.

[anyanka1]

There is a lot of misinformation about this case. The items cited by omahapundit, however well intentioned, are just not true. The quote is an opinion of a columnist which was based upon a personal interview with Lindauer and does not reflect the evidence that was actually presented in court. The defense initially motioned that she be declared incompetent to avoid going to trial; the prosecution responded by arguing for the opportunity to examine the evidence, and when they too determined that she was incompetent, motioned (unsuccessfully) for forced medication with the goal to restore competency. Once declared incompetent, any proposal to overturn the earlier decision does have to be examined in court-- this is to protect the rights of the accused and it isn''t a whimsical matter. I think we can all agree that putting someone who is mentally ill on trial is inherently unfair. The defense has its interests of course but the prosecution also has an interest in avoiding a mistrial and making sure that any conviction will stand up in court. I suspect that charges will ultimately be dropped. Whatever she may have done, most observers agree that this is completely overblown.

[anyanka1]

There is a lot of misinformation about this case. The items cited by omahapundit, however well intentioned, are just not true. The quote is an opinion of a columnist which was based upon a personal interview with Lindauer and does not reflect the evidence that was actually presented in court. The defense initially motioned that she be declared incompetent to avoid going to trial; the prosecution responded by arguing for the opportunity to examine the evidence, and when they too determined that she was incompetent, motioned (unsuccessfully) for forced medication with the goal to restore competency. Once declared incompetent, any proposal to overturn the earlier decision does have to be examined in court-- this is to protect the rights of the accused and it isn''t a whimsical matter. I think we can all agree that putting someone who is mentally ill on trial is inherently unfair. The defense has its interests of course but the prosecution also has an interest in avoiding a mistrial and making sure that any conviction will stand up in court. I suspect that charges will ultimately be dropped. Whatever she may have done, most observers agree that this is completely overblown.

[anyanka1]

lochlan, just because someone is mentally ill does not mean that they are wrong. It''s entirely possible to be out of your mind and spot on correct. To connected to go down? Yeah, I would agree. Her family is very powerful and very wealthy. If she had been a person of color rather than the daughter of well connected republicans, or anyone with less "position", she would absolutely have gone the way of Jose Padilla. She may be angry, but she walks free. More than some people can say.

[babooph]

Conservatives committing crimes like this are ruled "crazy"-surely liberals doing these things are just as crazy ? A very different treatment of the one who shot Reagan & the one who tried to shoot Ford?