Judge: Woman in Iraqi spy case unfit for trial

NEW YORK—A judge in New York has ruled that a former congressional aide accused of helping an Iraqi spy agency while Saddam Hussein was in power is mentally unfit for trial.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska announced her finding in the case of Susan Lindauer.

The defendant was arrested in 2004 on charges including that she conspired to act as a spy for the Iraqi intelligence service.

Lindauer worked in the press offices of several members of congress and as a magazine journalist.

The judge said late Monday she based her decision largely on the testimony of a psychiatrist who was brought into the case by prosecutors.

Psychiatrist Stuart Kleinman said at a hearing that Lindauer has a long-standing mental disorder that includes grandiose delusions.