Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of
War Stories with Oliver North on
Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a
New York Times best-selling author.
North was at the center of national attention during the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. North was a National Security Council member involved in the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran, which served to encourage the release of U.S. hostages from Lebanon. North formulated the second part of the plan: diverting proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua (funding to the Contras had been prohibited under the Boland Amendment amidst widespread public opposition in the U.S. and controversies surrounding human rights abuses by the Contras). North was charged with several felonies and convicted of three, but the convictions were later vacated, and the underlying charges dismissed due to the limited immunity agreement granted for his pre-trial public Congressional testimony about the affair.
Iran-Contra affair
North came into the public spotlight as a result of his participation in the
Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s, in which he claimed partial responsibility for the sale of weapons via intermediaries to
Iran, with the profits being channeled to the
Contras in
Nicaragua. He was reportedly responsible for the establishment of a covert network, which aided the Contras. The
Boland Amendment prohibited the appropriation of U.S. funds by intelligence agencies for this purpose. Funding was facilitated through
Palmer National Bank of Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1983 by
Harvey McLean, Jr., a businessman from
Shreveport, Louisiana. and was initially funded with $2.8 million dollars by
Herman K. Beebe. North supposedly used this bank during the Iran-Contra scandal by funneling money from his shell organization, the "National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty," through Palmer National Bank to the Contras.
According to the National Security Archive, in an August 23, 1986 e-mail to National Security Advisor John Poindexter, Oliver North described a meeting with a representative of Panamanian President Manuel Noriega: "You will recall that over the years Manuel Noriega in Panama and I have developed a fairly good relationship," North writes before explaining Noriega's proposal. If U.S. officials can "help clean up his image" and lift the ban on arms sales to the Panamanian Defense Force, Noriega will "'take care of' the Sandinista leadership for us."
North told Poindexter that Noriega could assist with sabotage against the Sandinistas and supposedly suggested that Noriega be paid one million dollars in cash, from "Project Democracy" funds raised from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran—for the Panamanian leader's help in destroying Nicaraguan economic installations.
In November 1986, as the sale of weapons was made public, North was dismissed by President Ronald Reagan, and, in July 1987, he was summoned to testify before televised hearings of a joint Congressional committee that was formed to investigate Iran-Contra. The image of North taking the oath became iconic, and similar photographs made the cover of Time and Newsweek, and helped to define him in the eyes of the public. During the hearings, North admitted that he had lied to Congress, for which, among other things, he was later charged. He defended his actions by stating that he believed in the goal of aiding the Contras, whom he saw as freedom fighters, and said that he viewed the Iran-Contra scheme as a "neat idea".
North was tried in 1988 in relation to his activities while at the National Security Council. He was indicted on sixteen felony counts, and, on May 4, 1989, he was initially convicted of three: accepting an illegal gratuity; aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry; and ordering the destruction of documents via his secretary, Fawn Hall. He was sentenced, by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years' probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours community service.
However, on July 20, 1990, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), North's convictions were vacated, after the appeals court found that witnesses in his trial might have been impermissibly affected by his immunized congressional testimony.
Because North had been granted limited immunity for his Congressional testimony, the law prohibited the independent counsel (or any prosecutor) from using that testimony as part of a criminal case against him. To prepare for the expected defense challenge that North's testimony had been used, the prosecution team had--before North's congressional testimony had been given--listed and isolated all of its evidence. Further, the individual members of the prosecution team had isolated themselves from news reports and discussion of North's testimony. While the defense could show no specific instance in which North's congressional testimony was used in his trial, the Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge had made an insufficient examination of the issue. Consequently, North's convictions were reversed. The Supreme Court declined to review the case. After further hearings on the immunity issue, Judge Gesell dismissed all charges against North on September 16, 1991, on the motion of the independent counsel.
Allegations of involvement with drug trafficking
During the early and mid-1980s, Lt. Col. North was alleged to have participated in organizing the transportation of
cocaine and
marijuana from various sites in Central and South America into the United States as a means of funding the Contra rebels. Congressional records show North was tasked with finding funding "outside the CIA" after the Boland Amendment cut off funding for the Contras in October, 1984.
On February 10, 1986, Robert Owen, North's liaison with the Contras, wrote North regarding a plane being used to carry humanitarian aid to the Contras that was previously used to transport drugs. The plane belonged to the Miami-based company Vortex, which is run by Michael Palmer, one of the largest marijuana traffickers in the United States. Despite Palmer's long history of drug smuggling, Palmer received over $300,000 from the Nicaraguan Humanitarian Aid Office (NHAO)—an office overseen by Oliver North, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Elliott Abrams, and CIA officer Alan Fiers — to ferry supplies to the Contras.
During Manuel Noriega's trial in 1991, pilot Floyd Carlton testified that his smuggling operation was flying weapons to the Contras at the same time he was flying drugs to the United States. When Carlton's lawyer asked about Oliver North's knowledge of these flights, federal prosecutors vehemently objected, and U.S. judge William Hoeveler became angry. "Just stay away from it", the judge snapped, refusing to allow any more questions on the topic.
Investigations into Lt. Col North's involvement have not been limited to the United States. One notable example is the second report of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly's Commission on Narcotics Trafficking, which examined the explosion of cocaine trafficking in that country during the 1980s. After studying the involvement of Contras and U.S. officials with illegal arms running and drug trafficking, the commission recommended that former ambassador Lewis Tambs, CIA station chief Joseph F. Fernandez, and Lt. Col. Oliver North be forever denied entry in Costa Rica, a recommendation adopted by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
North has consistently denied any involvement with drug trafficking, stating on Fox's Hannity and Colmes, "...nobody in the government of the United States, going all the way back to the earliest days of this under Jimmy Carter, ever had anything to do with running drugs to support the Nicaraguan resistance." Despite North's claims, Senator John Kerry's 1988 Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations found numerous references to drug trafficking within Mr. North's own notebooks (that North and the White House had substantially edited and censored). The Subcommittee reviewed 2,848 pages of spiral-bound notes taken by Mr. North between September, 1984 through November 1986 and concluded: "In reviewing these note-books, the Committee staff found a number of references to narcotics, terrorism and related matters which appeared relevant and material to the Subcommittee's inquiry.... the Notebooks do contain numerous reference to drugs, terrorism, and to the attempts of the Committee itself to investigate what North was doing in connection with his secret support of the Contras." Pages 145–147 of the Subcommittee's report directly quote 15 North notebook entries related to drug trafficking. An entry from July 12, 1985 states "$14 million to finance came from drugs".
Shredding government documents
North admitted shredding government documents related to his Contra and Iranian activities, at
William Casey's suggestion, when the Iran Contra scandal became public. He testified that
Robert McFarlane had asked him to alter official records to delete references to direct assistance to the contras and that he had helped.
Later life and career
Politics
In 1994, North unsuccessfully ran for the
Senate as the
Republican candidate in
Virginia. Republican Senator
John Warner of Virginia endorsed
Marshall Coleman, a Republican who ran as an independent, instead of North. On the eve of the election, former first lady
Nancy Reagan told a reporter that North had lied to her husband when discussing Iran-Contra with the former president, effectively
eviscerating him. North lost by a 46% to 43% margin to incumbent
Democrat Charles Robb, a son-in-law of President
Lyndon B. Johnson. Coleman received 11%. North's candidacy was documented in the 1996 film
A Perfect Candidate.
In his failed bid to unseat Robb, North raised $20.3 million in a single year through nationwide direct mail solicitations, telemarketing, fundraising events, and contributions from major donors. About $16 million of that amount was from direct mail alone. This was the biggest accumulation of direct mail funds for a statewide campaign to that date, and it made North the top direct mail political fundraiser in the country in 1994.
Books and media
North has written several best-selling books including
Under Fire,
One More Mission,
War Stories — Operation Iraqi Freedom,
Mission Compromised,
The Jericho Sanction, and
The Assassins.
His latest book, American Heroes, was released nationally in the U.S. on May 6, 2008. In this book, North addresses issues of defense against global terrorism, Jihad, and radical Islam from his perspective as a military officer and national security advisor and current Middle East war correspondent. North is also a syndicated columnist.
From 1995 to 2003, North was host of his own nationally-syndicated radio program known as the Oliver North Radio Show or Common Sense Radio. He also served as co-host of Equal Time on MSNBC for a couple of years starting in 1999. North is currently the host of the television show War Stories with Oliver North, and a regular commentator on Hannity, both on the Fox News Channel. North appeared as himself on many television shows including the sitcom Wings and three episodes of the TV military drama JAG in 1995, 1996 and 2002. In addition, he regularly speaks at both public and private events.
Other
In 1990, North founded the Freedom Alliance, a
501(c)(3) foundation "... to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense." The foundation's primary activities include providing support for wounded combat soldiers and providing scholarships for the sons and the daughters of service members killed in action. Beginning in 2003, Sean Hannity has raised over $10 million for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund through Freedom Concerts and donations from the Sean Hannity Show and its listeners. Hannity, North, and other charity spokesperson claim that all of the net proceeds from the Freedom Concerts are donated to the fund. The charity has recently been criticized by
Daily Kos and conservative-leaning blogger
Debbie Schlussel for distributing too little of its funds for charitable purposes. In response to accusations that money collected by the charity was inappropriately spent, the non-profit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed formal complaints with the FTC and IRS against North, Hannity, and the Freedom Concerts and Freedom Alliance charities.
Pictures of North in the NSA buildings with former British Intelligence Officer John P. Lawrence were flashed around the world, when the two former colleagues were asked to help the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Also, in 1991, Oliver North appeared on the first season at The Jerry Springer Show.
Although raised a Roman Catholic, he has long attended Protestant evangelical services with his family.
North is a board member in the NRA and had appeared at the NRA national convention in 2007 and 2008.
In 1995, Sliders, a Fox television show (rights were later bought by Sci-Fi Channel), aired three episodes that explored alternate dimensions where Oliver North had been elected President of the United States. The episodes were Summer of Love (S1E04), and Exodus parts 1 and 2 (S3E17, S3E18).
North's role in the Iran-Contra scandal was echoed in the story of "Colonel Oliver Southern," in the 2005 film about Soviet arms' dealer, Yuri Orlov, entitled Lord of War.
In 2008, American Dad!, an animated TV show produced by Seth McFarlane, aired an episode, called "", that used the Iran-Contra affair as the main storyline; the main character, Stan Smith, looks for a crate full of gold that Ollie North had to hide when the Iran-Contra affair blew up.
Political and historical legacy
After a withdrawal of U.S. military support and, with both sides facing international pressure to bring an end to the conflict, the
Contras agreed to negotiate with the
FSLN. In the interim, opposition candidate,
Violeta Chamorro, won a landslide victory over
Daniel Ortega. The long-term effect was to allow the FSLN to survive and regroup, eventually establishing complete dominance over the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government following Ortega's election in 2006.
In October 2006, North revisited Nicaragua in the run up to the nation's presidential elections. Claiming that he was privately invited to Nicaragua by friends, he warned against the possible return to power of his old foe, Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega's. During his visit, North expressed support for the PLC candidate, Jose Rizo, rather than for the United States government's preferred candidate, Eduardo Montealegre, a dissident PLC candidate. With 38% of the vote, Ortega won Nicaragua's presidency without the need for a runoff. This percentage was enough to win the presidency outright, due to a change in electoral law which lowered, from 45% to 35% (with a 5% margin of victory), the percentage required to avoid a runoff election.*
See ref:books "Operation Ortsac, Operation Sdorrah, Operation Ztir, Operation Nves Enin, Operation Lakcaj Eht Solrac, Operation Nosirp; & Operation Idod; & Operation Eritas Hcnerf/Yhcrana"-{Re; futuristic battle tech, ref, use of good battle sights on M16}-re Vietnam War sic.1977.
References
References
External links
Podcasts of North's recent articles
IMDB list of Oliver North's television appearances
Freedom Alliance
Oliver North Features at Creators Syndicate
Oliver North's political donations
Oliver North's Website
Publisher's website featuring Oliver North's latest book American Heroes
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