According to federal prosecutors, Washington State representative Jim McDermott's 2002 trip to Iraq was secretly financed by Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency. McDermott, a strong opponent of the war in Iraq, traveled to the country in October 2002 with two other democratic representatives. The trip occurred during the zenith of President Bush's push for the war, while McDermott and his fellow travelers urged for a diplomatic solution to be found.

Yesterday, federal prosecutors outlined how the trip had been financed by Muthanna Al-Hanooti and had been organized at the behest of Hussein's regime. Prosecutors allege that Hussein's intelligence agency paid for the trip through an intermediary and that Al-Hanooti was rewarded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil. The Representatives were not named or charged in the case.

McDermott's spokesman, Michael DeCesare said on Wednesday, "Obviously, we didn't know it at the time. The trip was to see the plight of the Iraqi children. That's the only reason we went." Representative Mike Thompson of California who was also on the trip in question, pointed out the trip had been approved by the State Department. A spokesperson for the Justice Department verified the representatives statements saying, "[investigators] have no information whatsoever" that any of the US Officials knew the trip had been paid by Hussein and his regime.

Photo of Representative McDermott in Iraq courtesy of the AP - AP Photo/JassimMohammed