Oliver North's Trial for Iran-Contra Scandal Begins
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=5169
General Information
Source:
Creator:
NBC Nightly News
Tom Brokaw/Carl Stern
Resource Type:
Copyright:
Event Date:
Air/Publish Date:
1986 - 1988
02/21/1989
Copyright Date:
Clip Length
Video News Report
NBCUniversal Media,
LLC.
1989
00:02:48
Description
As Oliver North's trial begins, his attorney criticizes President Ronald Reagan's involvement in the IranContra scandal.
Keywords
President Ronald Reagan, Oliver North, Beirut, Lebanon, Iran-Contra, Iran, Contras, CIA, Robert
McFarland, Scandal
Citation
MLA
"Oliver North's Trial for Iran-Contra Scandal Begins." Carl Stern, correspondent. NBC Nightly News.
NBCUniversal Media. 21 Feb. 1989. NBC Learn. Web. 2 April 2016
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 1 of 3
APA
Stern, C. (Reporter), & Brokaw, T. (Anchor). 1989, February 21. Oliver North's Trial for Iran-Contra
Scandal Begins. [Television series episode]. NBC Nightly News. Retrieved from
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=5169
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
"Oliver North's Trial for Iran-Contra Scandal Begins" NBC Nightly News, New York, NY: NBC
Universal, 02/21/1989. Accessed Sat Apr 2 2016 from NBC Learn:
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=5169
Transcript
Oliver North’s Trial for Iran-Contra Scandal Begins
TOM BROKAW, anchor:
Remember, it was almost two and a half years ago that an obscure Beirut newspaper stunned the world
with a detailed story about the United States selling weapons to Iran. This quickly grew into the most
controversial, tangled scandal of the Reagan presidency. And today, the point man of the operation went
on trial, charged with twelve felony counts, Oliver North. But as NBC’s Carl Stern reports tonight,
North’s lawyer is determined to put Reagan on trial as well.
CARL STERN reporting:
The judge told the jury right at the start there’s only one person on trial here, that’s Oliver North. But the
defense quickly tried to shift the blame to former President Reagan. Said North’s lawyer, Brandon
Sullivan, “North followed the instructions of the highest elected officials of the United States.” He said,
“President Reagan had warned, ‘We’ll all be hanging by our thumbs in front of the White House if
Congress learned of the secret aid being furnished to the Contras.’” Said Sullivan, “It wasn’t Ollie North’s
idea, it was what the President wanted. Now North has been abandoned by his government.”
Trial Prosecutor John Keker ripped into North contending, “It’s not an excuse to say I lied because my
boss wanted me to.” He said, “North’s lying to Congress shattered the very soul of our system of
government.” North’s wife, Betsy, was there to hear her husband defended as a loyal Marine, who wished
only to protect his family, his country, and his president.
There had been concern that North’s lawyers might use classified information that can’t be disclosed, and
that could lead to a shutdown in the trial. But except for a reference to mysterious Project X that North
worked on, nothing new was revealed in opening statements.
Tomorrow, the first scheduled witness is former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Lee Hamilton,
who was allegedly lied to in 1985 when he tried to learn what North was doing. During the Iran-Contra
hearings, Hamilton vigorously denounced North’s view of how to carry out foreign policy.
LEE HAMILTON: The policy was driven by a series of lies. Lies to the Iranians, lies to the Central
Intelligence Agency, lies to the Attorney General, lies to our friends and allies, lies to the Congress, and
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 2 of 3
lies to the American people.
STERN: The prosecution’s most important witness may be North’s former boss, Robert McFarland, who
pleaded guilty last March to misleading Congress. NBC News has learned that McFarland will asked to be
sentenced in the next few days before he testifies so no one can say he is trying to win a lighter sentence.
According to prosecutors, McFarland will testify that North lied about his activities, even to superiors,
who otherwise would never have given North the go-ahead. That could destroy North’s defense that he
was only following orders. Carl Stern, NBC News at Federal Court in Washington.
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 3 of 3