Ritter said Khafaji exercised no editorial control over the documentary and that Khafaji had personally assured him that the money did not come from Hussein, but Ritter acknowledged the possibility that he was a "useful idiot."
"The regime felt they needed a movie like the one I made to be made. They had no input. I told the Iraqi government, 'The truth is your friend,' " Ritter said. "Shakir facilitated the truth being told. I view him as an American patriot."
In September 2002, as Congress prepared to vote on whether to authorize war in Iraq, Khafaji helped arrange a trip to Iraq by Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson of St. Helena, Calif., Jim McDermott of Washington state and David E. Bonior of Michigan, who is no longer in office.
Republicans accused the three Democrats of handing a public relations victory to Hussein. The three called on Hussein to admit weapons inspectors to clear up doubts over his arms program.
In a statement, Thompson said he had had no contact with Khafaji since the trip. McDermott, who received a one-time donation of $5,000 from Khafaji after the trip, returned the money upon learning of the possible links between Khafaji and the oil-for-food corruption, an aide said.
Khafaji's final attempt to stop the growing threat of war in Iraq came in January 2003, as he and Ritter tried to arrange a trip to Baghdad by a group of Nobel Peace Prize winners, Ritter said.
This time, with an attack by another U.S.-led coalition imminent, the plan fell apart.
American and British troops invaded two months later.
