Editing Oliver North (section)

== Iran–Contra affair ==
{{Main|Iran–Contra affair}}
{{See also|Nicaragua v. United States}}
North came into the public spotlight as a result of his participation in the [[Iran–Contra affair]], a political scandal during the Reagan administration, in which he claimed partial responsibility for the sale of weapons through intermediaries to [[Iran]], with the profits being channeled to the [[Contras]] in Nicaragua. It was alleged that he was responsible for the establishment of a covert network which subsequently funneled those funds to the Contras. Congress passed the [[Boland Amendment]] (to the House Appropriations Bill of 1982 and following years),<ref name="Webb 1999">{{cite book|last=Webb|first=Gary|year=1999|pages=206|title=Dark Alliance|publisher=[[Seven Stories Press]]|isbn=978-1888363937|title-link=Dark Alliance (book)}}</ref> which prohibited the appropriation of U.S. funds by intelligence agencies for the support of the Contras.

North solicited $10 million from the [[Sultan of Brunei]] to skirt U.S. prohibitions on funding the Contras. However, he gave the wrong number of the Swiss bank account intended to launder the money, and it went instead to a Swiss businessman. A Senate committee investigating the transaction tracked it down so it could be returned to Brunei.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/13/world/north-s-10-million-mistake-sultan-s-gift-lost-in-a-mixup.html |title=North's $10 million Mistake: Sultan's gift lost in a mixup |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Fox |last=Butterfield |date=May 13, 1987 |access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref>

In an August 23, 1986, e-mail to [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] [[John Poindexter]], North described a meeting with a representative of Panamanian General [[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."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cockburn|first1=Alexander|last2=St. Clair|first2=Jeffrey|title=Whiteout: the CIA, drugs, and the press|publisher=Verso|year=1998|page=287|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s5qIj_h_PtkC&pg=PA287 |access-date=November 30, 2010|isbn=1859841392}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=North American Congress on Latin America|title=NACLA report on the Americas|volume=27|publisher=NACLA|year=1993|location=California|page=31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RowpAQAAIAAJ |access-date=November 30, 2010|author1-link=North American Congress on Latin America}}</ref>

North told Poindexter that General Noriega could assist with sabotage against the ruling party of Nicaragua, the [[Sandinista National Liberation Front]]. North supposedly suggested that Noriega be paid $1 million in cash from [[National Endowment for Democracy|Project Democracy]] funds raised from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran for the Panamanian leader's help in destroying Nicaraguan economic installations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB113/index.htm|title=The Oliver North File|publisher=[[National Security Archive]]|access-date=June 23, 2011}}</ref>

In November 1986, as the sale of weapons was made public, North was dismissed by President [[Ronald Reagan]]. In an interview with ''[[Cigar Aficionado]]'' magazine, North said that on February 11, 1987, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] detected an attack on North's family<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/An-Exclusive-Interview-with-Oliver-North_8794/print/Y|title=An Exclusive Interview with Oliver North|access-date=June 6, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714135814/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/An-Exclusive-Interview-with-Oliver-North_8794/print/Y|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> from the Peoples Committee for Libyan Students, with an order to kill North. Although government officials later expressed skepticism of this claim,<ref name="WaPo1988Jul22">{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Caryle |last2=Evans |first2=Sandra |title=D.C. Travel Agent Denies He Had Role in Alleged Plot to Kill Col. North|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/07/22/dc-travel-agent-denies-he-had-role-in-alleged-plot-to-kill-col-north/ddd62521-44e0-486a-9917-442b76617a85/ |access-date=October 30, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 22, 1988}}</ref> and no charges for this alleged plot were brought,<ref name="Time1988Aug01">{{cite magazine |title=The Libyan Travel Bureau: Oliver North was its target – but then maybe not |volume=132 |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968036,00.html |access-date=October 30, 2019 |issue=5 |magazine=Time Magazine |date=August 1, 1988}}</ref> his family was moved to [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune|Camp Lejeune]] in [[North Carolina]] and lived with federal agents until North retired from the Marine Corps the following year.<ref>{{cite interview|last=North|first=Oliver |subject-link=Oliver North|interviewer=[[Hugh Hewitt]]|title=[[Hugh Hewitt Show]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/21/us/eight-men-are-charged-with-pro-libya-actions.html|title=Eight Men Are Charged With Pro-Libya Actions|access-date=June 6, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 21, 1988|last1=Shenon|first1=Philip}}</ref>

In July 1987, North was summoned to testify before televised hearings of a joint congressional committee that was formed to investigate the Iran–Contra scandal. During the hearings, North admitted that he had misled Congress,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/08/the-nras-new-president-oliver-north-is-notorious-for-his-role-in-an-illicit-arms-deal/|title='Olliemania': The stage-worthy scandal that starred Oliver North as a congressional witness|last=Rosenberg|first=Eli|date=May 8, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 28, 2019}}</ref> for which, along with other actions, 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 fighter]]s against the Sandinistas and said that he viewed the Iran–Contra scheme as a "neat idea."<ref name="perfect">{{IMDb title |117320|A Perfect Candidate}}. Retrieved June 23, 2011</ref> North admitted shredding government documents related to these activities at [[William Casey]]'s suggestion when the Iran–Contra scandal became public. He also testified that [[Robert McFarlane (American politician)|Robert McFarlane]] had asked him to alter official records to delete references to direct assistance to the Contras and that he had helped.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/irancontra/contra3.htm|title=Hostile Witnesses|page=3|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 23, 2011|date=August 19, 1998}}</ref>

[[File:Oliver North mug shot.jpg|thumb|upright|left|North's mugshot,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Iran-Contra Affair • Levin Center |url=https://levin-center.org/what-is-oversight/portraits/the-iran-contra-affair/ |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Levin Center |language=en-US}}</ref> taken on the day of his arrest]]North was indicted in March 1988 on 16 felony counts.<ref name="northindictment">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/17/world/north-poindexter-and-2-others-indicted-on-iran-contra-fraud-and-theft-charges.html |title=North, Poindexter and 2 Others Indicted on Iran–Contra Fraud and Theft Charges |last=Shenon |first=Philip |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 29, 2018 |date=March 17, 1988 |page=A00001 |edition=National}}</ref> His trial opened in February 1989,<ref name="northtrialopen1">{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/02/21/Oliver-Norths-time-for-judgment-arrived-Tuesday-with-the/1405604040400/ |title=Oliver North's 'time for judgment' arrived Tuesday with the... |last=Saker |first=Anne |work=UPI |access-date=September 28, 2019 |date=February 21, 1989}}</ref><ref name="northtrialopen2">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/22/us/north-trial-opens-after-long-delay.html |title=North Trial Opens After Long Delay |last=Johnston |first=David |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 28, 2019 |date=February 22, 1989}}</ref> 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 through his secretary, [[Fawn Hall]]. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge [[Gerhard Gesell]] on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours of community service.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 5, 1989 |title=1989: Irangate colonel avoids prison |language=en-GB |work=BBC On This Day |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/5/newsid_2772000/2772471.stm |access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref> North performed some of his community service within [[Potomac Gardens]], a public housing project in southeast Washington, DC.<ref>{{cite web|last=Crawford|first=Craig|title=One Avenue, Two Faces: White House, Crack House|url=http://craigcrawford.com/2011/10/30/one-avenues-2-faces-white-house-crack-house/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213120401/http://craigcrawford.com/2011/10/30/one-avenues-2-faces-white-house-crack-house/|archive-date=December 13, 2013}}</ref> However, with the help of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/21/us/civil-liberties-union-asks-court-to-quash-iran-contra-indictment.html|title=Civil Liberties Union Asks Court To Quash Iran-Contra Indictment|work=The New York Times|date=July 21, 1988|access-date=May 7, 2018|first=Philip|last=Shenon}}</ref> North appealed his conviction to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]. On July 20, 1990, the D.C. Circuit vacated North's convictions on the ground that witnesses in his trial might have been impermissibly affected by his immunized congressional testimony.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm|title=Walsh Iran/Contra Report – Chapter 2 United States v. Oliver L. North|website=Fas.org|access-date=June 23, 2011}}</ref>

The individual members of the prosecution team had isolated themselves from news reports and discussion of North's testimony, and 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. After further hearings on the immunity issue, Judge Gesell dismissed all charges against North on September 16, 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm|title=Walsh Iran/Contra Report – Chapter 2 United States v. Oliver L. North|website=Fas.org|access-date=October 21, 2016}}.<br />Quote: "In two days of remand hearings, [Robert C.] McFarlane testified that his trial testimony was 'colored' by, and that he was deeply affected by, North's immunized congressional testimony. Independent Counsel then consented to dismiss the remaining counts of the indictment.... Order, North (D.D.C. Sept. 16, 1991) (dismissing Counts Six, Nine, and Ten of Indictment, with prejudice)."</ref>