Simmons, 62, of Annapolis, Maryland, entered his not guilty plea in court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday.
His indictment by a grand jury last week alleges that for 27 years, from 1973 until 2000, Simmons pretended to be an “Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer” for the Central Intelligence Agency. He has been charged with fraud against the United States, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government.
Beginning in 2002, Simmons became a regular on Fox News as their analyst on terrorism. The network has now been attempting to distance themselves, claiming that he was unpaid and was simply a guest — but for years he was falsely presented to viewers as a former CIA terrorism expert.
Simmons is accused of lying about his background to obtain security clearances and to try to gain employment from the government as a defense contractor. His lies were so convincing that he was once deployed overseas as an intelligence advisor to senior military officials.
Simmons was also indicted for defrauding a victim out of $125,000 in a bogus real estate deal.
Simmons' lawyer, public defender Whitney Minter, is now seeking a top secret clearance, according to a statement made by the prosecutor's office.
His trial is set to begin on February 23, as the Speedy Trial Act was waived due to the "unusual and complex," nature of the case.
