Susan Lindauer
Encyclopedia
Susan Lindauer is an American
journalist, author, and antiwar activist. She was accused of conspiring to act as an agent for the Iraqi Intelligence Service
and engaging in prohibited financial transactions involving the government of Iraq under Saddam Hussein
. Lindauer was found mentally unfit
to stand trial and all charges were dropped in 2009.
Lindauer is also a second cousin of former White House Chief of Staff
Andrew Card
.
in Anchorage, Alaska
where she was an honor student and was in school plays. She graduated from Smith College
in 1985. She earned a masters degree in public policy
from the London School of Economics
. She worked as a temporary reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
for 13 weeks in 1987, and as an editorial writer at the The Everett Herald in Everett, Washington
in 1989. She then was a reporter and researcher at U.S. News & World Report
in 1990 and 1991. Her co-workers said she was a woman "prone to mood swings and erratic behavior".
She then worked for Representative Peter DeFazio
, D-Oregon
(1993) and then Representative Ron Wyden
, D-Oregon
(1994) before joining the office of Senator Carol Moseley Braun
, D-Illinois
, where she worked as a press secretary and speech writer.
in 1995, and that she held meetings with Iraqi Intelligence Service
officials at the United Nations
in 1999. Andrew Card
is her second cousin. Her first contact with the former Chief of Staff
to President George W. Bush
was around 2001. On January 8, 2003, she delivered a letter to Card urging the White House to not invade Iraq.
and charged with "acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government". The indictment alleged that she accepted US$10,000 from Iraqi intelligence services in 2002. Lindauer denies receiving the money, but admits taking a trip to Baghdad. She was released on bond on March 13, 2004 to attend an arraignment the following week. In 2005 she was incarcerated in Carswell Air Force Base
in Fort Worth, Texas
for psychological evaluation
then moved to the Metropolitan Correctional Center
in Manhattan.
ruled that Lindauer was unfit to stand trial and could not be forced to take antipsychotic medication to make her competent to stand trial.
In 2008, Loretta A. Preska
of the Federal District Court in New York City
reaffirmed that Lindauer was mentally unfit to stand trial.
On January 16, 2009 the government decided to not go ahead with the prosecution saying "prosecuting Lindauer would no longer be in the interests of justice."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist, author, and antiwar activist. She was accused of conspiring to act as an agent for the Iraqi Intelligence Service
Iraqi Intelligence Service
The Iraqi Intelligence Service , also known as the Mukhabarat, General Directorate of Intelligence, or Party Intelligence, was the main state intelligence organization in Iraq under Saddam Hussein...
and engaging in prohibited financial transactions involving the government of Iraq under Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
. Lindauer was found mentally unfit
Competence (law)
In American law, competence concerns the mental capacity of an individual to participate in legal proceedings. Defendants that do not possess sufficient "competence" are usually excluded from criminal prosecution, while witnesses found not to possess requisite competence cannot testify...
to stand trial and all charges were dropped in 2009.
Personal life
She is the daughter of John Howard Lindauer II, the newspaper publisher and former Republican nominee for Governor of Alaska. Susan's mother was Jackie Lindauer (1932-1992) who died of cancer in 1992. In 1995 her father married Dorothy Oremus, a Chicago attorney who along with other members of her family owned the largest cement company in the Midwest.Lindauer is also a second cousin of former White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
Andrew Card
Andrew Card
Andrew Hill Card, Jr. is a Republican American politician, former United States Cabinet member, and head of President George W. Bush's White House Iraq Group. Card served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George H. W. Bush and the White House Chief of Staff under George W. Bush...
.
Education and employment
Lindauer attended East Anchorage High SchoolEast Anchorage High School
East Anchorage High School is a public high school in Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is attended by approximately 2300 students...
in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
where she was an honor student and was in school plays. She graduated from Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
in 1985. She earned a masters degree in public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. She worked as a temporary reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
for 13 weeks in 1987, and as an editorial writer at the The Everett Herald in Everett, Washington
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
in 1989. She then was a reporter and researcher at U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
in 1990 and 1991. Her co-workers said she was a woman "prone to mood swings and erratic behavior".
She then worked for Representative Peter DeFazio
Peter DeFazio
Peter Anthony DeFazio is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Eugene, Springfield, Roseburg and part of Corvallis. As Oregon's most senior member of Congress, he is the dean of Oregon's House of Representatives delegation...
, D-Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
(1993) and then Representative Ron Wyden
Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee "Ron" Wyden is the senior U.S. Senator for Oregon, serving since 1996, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1996....
, D-Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
(1994) before joining the office of Senator Carol Moseley Braun
Carol Moseley Braun
Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun is an American feminist politician and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. She was the first and to date only African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first woman to defeat an incumbent senator in an...
, D-Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where she worked as a press secretary and speech writer.
Activism
Susan Lindauer claims she started making visits to the Libyan Mission to the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 1995, and that she held meetings with Iraqi Intelligence Service
Iraqi Intelligence Service
The Iraqi Intelligence Service , also known as the Mukhabarat, General Directorate of Intelligence, or Party Intelligence, was the main state intelligence organization in Iraq under Saddam Hussein...
officials at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 1999. Andrew Card
Andrew Card
Andrew Hill Card, Jr. is a Republican American politician, former United States Cabinet member, and head of President George W. Bush's White House Iraq Group. Card served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George H. W. Bush and the White House Chief of Staff under George W. Bush...
is her second cousin. Her first contact with the former Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
to President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
was around 2001. On January 8, 2003, she delivered a letter to Card urging the White House to not invade Iraq.
Arrest
Lindauer was arrested on Thursday, 11 March 2004 in Takoma Park, MarylandTakoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...
and charged with "acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government". The indictment alleged that she accepted US$10,000 from Iraqi intelligence services in 2002. Lindauer denies receiving the money, but admits taking a trip to Baghdad. She was released on bond on March 13, 2004 to attend an arraignment the following week. In 2005 she was incarcerated in Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located about northwest central of Fort Worth, Texas, United States; the air force base is mostly within the Fort Worth city limits and has portions within Westworth and White Settlement...
in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
for psychological evaluation
Psychological evaluation
A psychological evaluation or mental examination is an examination into a person's mental health by a mental health professional such as a psychologist. A psychological evaluation may result in a diagnosis of a mental illness...
then moved to the Metropolitan Correctional Center
Metropolitan Correctional Center
Metropolitan Correctional Center is the name of several federal prisons in the United States:*Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago*Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City*Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego...
in Manhattan.
Unfit to stand trial
In 2006, she was released from prison after Michael B. MukaseyMichael B. Mukasey
Michael Bernard Mukasey is a lawyer and former judge who served as the 81st Attorney General of the United States. Mukasey, an American lawyer, was appointed following the resignation of Alberto Gonzales. Mukasey also served for 18 years as a judge of the United States District Court for the...
ruled that Lindauer was unfit to stand trial and could not be forced to take antipsychotic medication to make her competent to stand trial.
In 2008, Loretta A. Preska
Loretta A. Preska
Loretta A. Preska is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.-Background:...
of the Federal District Court in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
reaffirmed that Lindauer was mentally unfit to stand trial.
On January 16, 2009 the government decided to not go ahead with the prosecution saying "prosecuting Lindauer would no longer be in the interests of justice."