Baghdad Jim on Saddam's Payroll

It turns out that Seattle Congressman "Baghdad Jim" McDermott received indirect payoffs from Saddam Hussein.

Congressman Jim McDermott this week returned a $5,000 contribution made to his legal defense fund by an Iraqi-American businessman who has admitted to financial ties with Saddam Hussein's regime.

Shakir al-Khafaji, a Detroit-area businessman who had been active in the anti-Iraq-war movement and who accompanied McDermott, D-Seattle, on his highly publicized trip to Iraq in 2002, acknowledged to the Financial Times of London this week that he received lucrative vouchers for Iraqi oil from Saddam's government.

It's to McDermott's credit that he returned the money. But the fact remains that McDermott had both given Saddam's people the impression that he would be a good dupe, and that he also fell for their overtures. And there's still this:

A nonprofit organization, Life for Relief and Development, paid McDermott's $5,510 travel expenses for the Iraq trip, according to a disclosure form filed with the House clerk. Al-Khafaji has been named as a financial supporter of the organization, though the extent of his support is not known.

"Life for Relief and Development"'s website is here. Baghdad Jim owes the people of this district some more answers.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at April 18, 2004 10:06 PM