North Rules Out Private Testimony : Iran Probe Request Refused; Contempt of Congress Risked

A defiant Lt. Col. Oliver L. North dealt a new setback to the congressional Iran- contra investigation Wednesday, refusing to be questioned privately before his scheduled public testimony in mid-July.

North’s decision, just two days after a federal judge granted him limited immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony, caused committee members to question whether he meant what he said last year when he told Congress: “I don’t think there is another person in America that wants to tell this story as much as I do.”

By refusing to submit to a private deposition before his public appearance--a procedure that Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) noted “has been followed throughout the ages” by congressional investigating committees--North risked being held in contempt of Congress.

Could Delay Hearings

But members of the Senate and House investigating committees seemed reluctant to initiate contempt proceedings against North, who was fired as a White House aide last November. They figured that North could use the appeals process to delay the hearings for at least two to three months and possibly to escape testifying altogether.

However, Inouye declared after a meeting of his panel Wednesday night that the committees will press for “an ironclad arrangement” guaranteeing public testimony by North and will begin contempt-of-Congress proceedings if cooperation is not quickly forthcoming.

Sen. Warren B. Rudman (R-N.H.), vice chairman of the panel, said the committee wants to learn within the next 24 hours whether “there is a real intention on the part of Col. North to testify.” He accused North of engaging in delaying tactics.

Testimony Starts July 15

Rudman also said July 15 has been set as the start of North’s public testimony. The testimony was delayed under an agreement that was designed to give independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh sufficient time to build a criminal case against him.

Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.), chairman of the House investigating committee, said at an earlier news conference that his panel has yet to decide whether North should be cited at this point. He said a vote on that could come today, although Inouye’s comments suggested that the committees will be acting together in trying to work out a guarantee with North’s lawyers.

Under the terms of North’s limited immunity, Walsh cannot use North’s testimony against him in a trial. In practical terms, that means Walsh will have to quit gathering evidence against North after he begins testifying.

North, who apparently masterminded the diversion of profits from the Iran arms sales to Nicaragua’s rebels, had been subpoenaed to begin his private testimony today. But Brendan Sullivan, his attorney, told the committee Wednesday morning that North would refuse to do so on grounds that private testimony is not required under the immunity statutes.

Rudman dismissed North’s legal arguments as “frivolous.” He said the committee’s legal experts are confident that North’s arguments would be struck down by the courts if Congress chooses to hold him in contempt for failing to be questioned privately.

Battle Could Be Protracted

But Rudman noted that if the Senate and House committees decide to wage a protracted court battle with North over his refusal to testify privately, Walsh might be forced to proceed with a criminal indictment--a step that would preclude North from testifying publicly as well.

“If you delay it long enough, you might never appear before Congress,” Rudman said.

Hamilton, chairman of the House committee, remarked that North’s name has been mentioned “in almost every paragraph” of the testimony so far. “We won’t have a very complete understanding of these events until we hear from Col. North,” he said.

Rep. Dick Cheney (R-Wyo.), ranking minority member of the House committee, said a legal brief submitted by North’s attorney restated his desire to tell his story publicly. North originally expressed that sentiment last December, when he cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination as he refused to testify to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Must Live Up to Promise

Cheney said North must live up to that promise if he wants to maintain his image as “a gung-ho, patriotic Marine.”

Besides North’s testimony, committee members are seeking a wide variety of documents from him--particularly the stenographer’s notebooks he is believed to have used as diaries during his tenure at the National Security Council. Members said North has not yet given the committee any documents.

Committee members acknowledged that North’s refusal to testify privately would put them at a great disadvantage when he appears before them on national television. They will have no way of verifying North’s story before he presents it to the American public.

Members also said they suspect North’s decision was intended to allow him an opportunity to hear the testimony of his former boss, Rear Adm. John M. Poindexter, before being questioned by the committee himself. As a result, the committees also are considering a plan to rearrange their witness list and delay Poindexter’s public testimony until after North’s.

Poindexter Questioned

Poindexter submitted to private questioning by the committee staff Wednesday, his second such private session. Members had hoped to be able to compare the private testimony of North and Poindexter before questioning the two men publicly.

Virtually all of the committee’s public witnesses so far, including all who have testified under grants of limited immunity from prosecution, have been questioned privately by the committee staff before appearing at the hearings.

Retired Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord is the only major witness who was not questioned before his public testimony--and the committee is now considering whether to recall him in an effort to iron out many contradictions between his statements and those of subsequent witnesses.

North ‘Very Disappointed’

While North has refused public comment on the testimony of others, he has said in private conversations with friends that “he is very disappointed at a lot of conclusions that a lot of people are drawing without all the facts,” according to one friend.

“When he gets the opportunity to explain all of this . . . a few people are going to look kind of silly,” predicted Mark C. Treanor, a longtime friend and former classmate of North at the U.S. Naval Academy. “I don’t think any of his old friends think for a minute that he’s done anything for personal gain, just flat-out don’t believe it.”

Committee leaders also disclosed Wednesday that they have no intention of compelling the testimony of North’s wife, Betsy, who has refused to testify voluntarily. The committees wanted to ask her about a trip she apparently made to Philadelphia to discuss how she might collect on a $200,000 education fund set aside for her children by Albert A. Hakim, the financial mastermind of the secret contra supply network.