His most recent post concerns a translation of how Saddam was attempting to influence foreign governments. He also gets us up-to-date on Susan Lindauer - remember her? She is the second cousin of White House staffer Andy Card. Ms Lindauer was trying to use this connection to commit treason, advocating for Saddam through back-channels and being used as a source by Iraq.
Robison has discovered that she is being held in a federal psychiatric center in Texas, and has been declared not competent to stand trial. From the Seattle Weekly:
Almost as instantly as she hit the global news cycle as a reputed U.S. traitor and alleged spy for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government, former Seattle newspaper journalist Susan Lindauer dropped off the radar. Once the headlines faded in 2004, the public might have assumed she was convicted and sent to prison. But for the moment, Susan Lindauer's strange story remains incomplete. She is confined to a federal mental facility in Texas, perhaps never to get her day in court, according to friends, officials, and public records. Mostly unnoticed, a New York federal judge has found her incompetent to stand trial and ordered further evaluation. She is being held past her scheduled release date, which had been sometime early this month, and, she tells friends, might be forcibly medicated as part of her treatment.
An ex–Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter and former U.S. Senate and House aide, Lindauer, 43, was charged in March 2004 with conspiring to act as a spy and being an unregistered Iraqi agent.
I commented on that site what might be happening here, and reproduce it here.
Because I work in the involuntary hospitalization biz, I will offer some things as speculation only. I know nothing about this specific case.
You can always find someone who will declare a person is incompetent to stand trial. In my state I can name two psychiatrists and a PhD psychologist who all have an over 90% rate of finding incompetency. They are not -- at least two of them are not -- paid off quacks who will find what you want them to. They just have a very low threshhold for incompetency. Defense attorneys who specialize in mental health know who these people are. There are also issues as to whether a person is permanently incompetent, or could conceivably be restored to competency.
Secondly, there are several types of mental illness where a person might be both high-functioning in some ways, but completely clueless in others. A person with a bipolar disorder, or a late-onset paranoid schizophrenic could both conceivably fit that picture.
A person's attorney might be advising them not to be treated, knowing that treatment would result in restored competency and the necessity of standing trial. The prosecution, however, could believe that competency could be restored with forcible medication and be pressing for that.
A person in manic phase of a Bipolar disorder might well be grandiose and believing she could be saving the whole world by running with the big boys. When the overconfidence and grandiosity caught up with her and she got in trouble, it would be an ambiguous situation whether she would want to be treated. As poor insight into need for treatment is already a hallmark of certain illnesses, the layers of the onion would be even more complicated. A person could easily believe in that situation that he was being offered treatment as punishment, based on some paranoid fantasy that the feds don't want him to talk, or to make him appear less credible, etc. As MH professionals are often semi-paranoid lefties themselves, some of those treating such a person might even agree with him!
Wheels within wheels.
1 comment:
Thank you for taking the time to consider this email. It is being written with a sense of urgency due to recent developments. My personal observation is an American citizen is about to be given a hearing on mental competency because she attempted to slow the rush to war in Iraq and has connections to the White House.
She was charged some time ago as a unregistered lobbyist. Without trial, she was sent to Carswell, Texas seven months ago for "psychiatric observation ." Without representation, she is about to have a hearing where it will be decided whether she should be permanently committed and forcibly medicated.
Additional detail can be found at :
www.jbfields3.com/jbf.htm see http://jayspolitics.blogspot.com/
I am asking that you use your influence to aid Susan in receiving due process and appropriate representation.
I frankly find myself frightened by this case knowing that by raising my voice I too could be subject to retaliation by others claiming to be acting on behalf of the government.
But this is the story of Susan Lindauer. She acted with the knowledge of the CIA in the past in attempting to be a bridge between two cultures whose relationship is one of misunderstanding and mistrust. My understanding is she carried a communication from the Iraq government to the White House. Her cousin Andy Card was chief of staff at the White House. The message from Iraq was that inspections could resume with out any substantial conditions from the Iraq government. Susan was charged for acting as an unregister lobbyist for a foreign interest, I believe due to reimbursement for her travel expenses. Mind you, she notified many government officials prior to her meetings regarding her role as a behind the scenes facilitator of dialogue. She traveled from Washington, D.C. to Iraq and returned with correspondence.
The charge was brought more than two years ago. Seven months ago she was forcibly institutionalized in Carswell, Texas for observation. Her uncle, Ted, recently traveled to Carswell Texas to visit her and was denied access. On May 4, 2006 there will be a hearing to determine whether Susan is mentally competent and if determined to not be she will be committed permanently to the mental institution and also forcibly medicated. My understanding is Ted has suggested a less austere outpatient program.
Please note Susan is not an enemy combatant picked up in Afghanistan or Iraq. She is a U.S. citizen, activist and patriot from Alaska who was living in the suburbs of Washington D.C.
This patriot is Susan Lindauer, but it could be your mother, wife, sister or daughter. I do not believe Susan is a threat to herself or anyone else. I am a concerted citizen - perceiving an abuse of governmental authority. Susan should be entitled to due process and representation. Please research this story yourself, if you must, but I ask you to consider taking an interest in the case and to use your skills, talents, and resources to prevent this governmental action from being unchallenged. Our diligence is essential in controlling and shaping the nature of our government.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Fields
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