On this day, Nov. 21, 1986

Examiner Staff Writer 11/20/08

National Security Council staff member Oliver North started shredding documents that would have exposed his participation in what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal.

North was fired four days later, but his secretary, Fawn Hall, continued to sneak documents to him by stuffing them in her skirt and boots.

Only six years earlier, Iran had become an enemy of the United States after taking hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. At the time, Ronald Reagan had insisted that the United States would never deal with terrorists. When the revelation surfaced that President Reagan’s top officials at the National Security Council had begun selling arms to Iran, it was a public relations disaster.

During the Iran-Contra hearings, North claimed that the Reagan administration had known about the illegal plan. After admitting that he had lied to Congress, North was convicted of shredding documents, obstruction of justice, and illegally receiving a security fence for his home in Great Falls, Va.

An appellate court voted 2-1 to overturn his conviction, saying some of evidence used against North might have come from testimony that Congress had immunized in their own hearings on the matter.

0 Comments