Word: graymailer
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...special prosecutor's surrender marked a victory for what some experts see as North's strategy of legal "graymail," in which he threatened to reveal some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets if the case against him was pressed. He has applied additional pressure on the White House in the past two weeks by subpoenaing as defense witnesses at least 35 current and former Administration officials, including President Ronald Reagan and President-elect George Bush. If they refuse to testify on the grounds of national security or Executive privilege, North could argue that he is being denied...
Legal experts are divided on whether the narrower case against North will have better odds for conviction. North's threat to use graymail against the remaining charges could backfire, according to some lawyers. "Right now Oliver North is not viewed as a graymailer; he is viewed as a patriot," says former Watergate assistant prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste. That outlook could change, Ben-Veniste suggests, as the focus of the case shifts from the unauthorized conduct of foreign policy to the seedier allegations of shredding documents, lying to Congress and diverting money for North...
Lawyers call threats by defense attorneys to disclose classified information "graymail." To laymen, it looks suspiciously close to blackmail since it forces the prosecution to make a choice: let the secrets be revealed or drop the relevant charges. North has insisted that more than 3,500 classified documents are vital to his defense. Special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh wants to use about 400 secret papers, from which a special interagency group made numerous deletions to protect national security. North's lawyers have objected to nearly all these exclusions. If the judge decides the deleted information is necessary for North's defense...