Wayne Simmons, the torture-loving, “former CIA operative” who has frequently appeared on Fox in that capacity, turns out to be a fraud and a dangerous guy.

From The Huffington Post:

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."  

Simmons was once a regular on Fox News, not so much in the last few years. Even so, his appearances have been memorable.

Last December, Simmons called Dick Cheney “one of my very few heroes,” presumably at least partly because of his willingness to torture.

SIMMONS: As one of my very few heroes said the other night, Vice President Dick Cheney, when you’ve got the bad guy in front of you, what are you going to do? Ask him pretty, pretty, pretty please tell us what you know? No. We’re going to use enhanced interrogation techniques, and we are going to break him until we get that information.

On January 16, shortly after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Simmons fear mongered that the same thing could easily happen here, thanks to areas in the U.S. similar to the Muslim “no go zones” in Europe (that don’t exist).

SIMMONS: It is incomprehensible that anywhere in the United States, these types of things would be allowed, and yet my friend Ryan Mauro, as you probably know, reported that through the Clarion Project that we’ve got at least 19 paramilitary Muslim training facilities in the United States. …They’re using paramilitary exercises to plan and execute these types of operations all over the United States, and when it happens, it’ll just be you and I saying we told you so.

Host Neil Cavuto did not press for more details about this alarming, if outlandish claim. Instead, he called Simmons "uncannily prescient."

If you watch Simmons’ two fairly recent appearances, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the guy turned out to be a crook.