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FBI/CIA Illegal Alien Gets ‘Praised’ By Judge

In the rush of events we somehow missed this development on a story we have been following.

From the Detroit News:

Judge heaps praise on illegal alien who joined FBI, CIA

Paul Egan / The Detroit News

DETROIT — A federal judge lavished praise Tuesday on an illegal alien who infiltrated the FBI and the CIA before her fraudulent marriage was discovered.

U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn revoked the citizenship of Nada Nadim Prouty and fined her $750. He criticized the government for the way it publicized Prouty’s case and the media for the way they reported it.
“You have rendered extraordinary services to the United States as an agent of the FBI and an employee of the CIA,” Cohn told Prouty. “At no time did you compromise any investigation from improper behavior or inappropriate conduct.”
Prouty’s only real crime, Cohn said, was a sham marriage when she was 19 years old. It’s understandable she did not want to return to war-torn Lebanon at the time, he said.
Prouty, 38, a sister-in-law of fugitive LaShish Restaurants owner Talal Chahine, embraced relatives following her sentencing. She pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to defraud the United States, unauthorized computer access, and naturalization fraud.
Prouty, born in Lebanon, gained U.S. citizenship through a sham marriage, joined the FBI’s Washington field office as a special agent in 1999, and joined the CIA in 2003, according to court records.
Chahine, a fugitive believed to be living in Lebanon, was indicted for tax evasion in 2005. Chahine was also accused by federal agents of supporting Hezbollah, though he was not charged with providing support to terrorists.
Prouty admitted that while an FBI agent, she went into a computer system without authorization in 2003 and obtained information about the Detroit FBI’s investigation of Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. She also did name searches of FBI files for Chahine, herself, and her sister, Elfat El Aouar, Chahine’s wife.
Under a plea agreement with the government, Prouty faced possible prison time of six to 12 months.
But Cohn cited letters from FBI and CIA officers that said Prouty had risked her own personal safety working in Iraq and elsewhere on behalf of the United States.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Chadwell told Cohn the government did not object to the judge not sending Prouty to prison.
However, “this case should be taken very seriously,” Chadwell told the judge.
“She had a deep, dark secret in her past,” Chadwell said of Prouty. “Having a deep, dark secret is a very serious national security risk.”
Although it did not happen, Prouty could have faced blackmail if a foreign intelligence service had learned of her secret, he said.
Cohn signed an order to deport Prouty but simultaneously signed a second order withholding the deportation. She will be able to stay in the U.S. but not work or travel outside the country without special permission.
On Monday, Cohn made similar comments when he sentenced a former U.S. marine, in a related case, for her sham marriage.
Samar Khalil Spinelli, 39, a highly decorated Marine captain who is a former roommate of Prouty, was fined $500 by Cohn.
“She has lost her citizenship and employment, her financial resources have been depleted, and the U.S. Marine Corps has lost the services of a first-rate officer,” Cohn said of Spinelli.