Word: contra
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...addition, Poindexter and North were accused of trying to cover up their illicit actions by destroying and removing documents and making false statements. North was charged with lying to Attorney General Edwin Meese about NSC involvement in the diversion of funds to the contras and writing misleading letters to Congress denying that the NSC was supporting the contras. Former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane pleaded guilty two weeks ago to misdemeanor charges for signing the letters; he may testify against North. Poindexter was accused of a peculiarly high-tech cover-up: he purged his NSC computer files of all messages...
North, who told Congress last summer that he and Poindexter were Iran- contra's designated "fall guys," bore the brunt of the indictment. Piled onto the conspiracy and obstruction charges were accusations that the Marine lieutenant colonel had embezzled $4,300 worth of traveler's checks and received an illegal gratuity by accepting a $13,800 home-security system from Secord...
North was also accused of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by using the tax-exempt National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty to solicit $3.2 million in contributions, which he used to buy lethal contra aid. NEPL President Carl ("Spitz") Channell and Public Relations Consultant Richard Miller pleaded guilty to the same charges last spring, and presumably will testify against North. On all the charges, North faces a possible sentence of 85 years in prison and a staggering $4 million in fines...
...defendants have their way, the Iran-contra case will never come to trial. Defense attorneys will try to undermine Walsh's investigation from two angles. In January a federal appeals court ruled that the law authorizing independent counsels is unconstitutional. Walsh is protected by a backup appointment from Attorney General Edwin Meese. But the three months' worth of evidence that Walsh gathered before Meese's appointment could be ruled inadmissible if the Supreme Court strikes down the independent-counsel...
DESCRIPTION: Summary of charges against Iran-contra suspects Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord and Albert Hakim; color illustrations: map of Iran backed by missiles; three men in see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hear-no- evil pose stand at papershredder; three men holding dollar sign...