Man charged as Iraqi agent over Congress trip

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iraqi-American who helped organize a controversial U.S. congressional trip to Baghdad in 2002 was charged on Wednesday with working for ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government, which paid for the visit, the Justice Department said.

The indictment against Muthanna al-Hanooti said Iraq's foreign intelligence service funneled $34,000 through the Islamic charity Life for Relief and Development to pay delegation expenses.

It said al-Hanooti had been a lobbyist and public-relations coordinator for the charity, based in Southfield, Michigan.

The indictment did not name the three lawmakers who took the trip in September-October 2002, less than six months before the U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam.

But during the time in question, Democratic U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, Mike Thompson of California and David Bonior of Michigan, who were all opposed to war against Iraq, took a highly publicized trip to Iraq.

Delegation members said during their trip they warned Saddam's government it must allow U.N. arms inspections, and McDermott charged that President George W. Bush was willing to "mislead the American people" about the need for war.

Republicans accused delegation members at the time of sounding a bit like spokesmen for the Iraqi government and threatening to undermine U.S. efforts to assemble an international coalition against Iraq.

Thompson said on Wednesday the trip had been approved by the U.S. State Department and the United Nations.