To Be Questioned About Reagan : North Testifies Today in Iran-Contra Probe

The congressional committees investigating the Iran- contra affair today begin hearing what promises to be the most gripping testimony of their summer-long inquiry: that of Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, the central figure in the scandal, who until now has maintained a strict silence about the secret and possibly illegal operations he ran from the White House complex.

House Committee Chairman Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.) said initial questioning is likely to center on what President Reagan may have known about the diversion of Iranian arms sales profits to Nicaragua’s rebels. “That will come up early on,” Hamilton said. “It’s the major issue.”

Hamilton and others on the two investigating committees noted that they will be more vulnerable to surprise in their first public face-off with North than they have been with almost any other witness. That is because, at North’s insistence, his earlier, private questioning by the panels was limited to his knowledge of Reagan’s role.

Won’t Be Blind-Sided

Still, Senate counsel Arthur L. Liman noted that this lack of preparation does not mean committee members are likely to be blind-sided by anything North has to say. “We have prepared for this day for six months,” Liman said.

Indeed, the accounts the committee has heard from other witnesses have been a prelude to what North has to tell them. North--who has been characterized as everything from a superpatriot to a “loose cannon”--was the chief White House operative in the secret sale of U.S. arms to the Tehran regime in 1985 and 1986. And, with apparent disregard for a then-existing ban on U.S. aid to Nicaragua’s rebels, he diverted $3.5 million of the profits from those arms sales to his secret network supplying weapons to the insurgents.

All three major broadcast networks and Cable News Network plan live coverage of North’s testimony, which is scheduled to begin today at 6 a.m. PDT. North’s questioning, first by committee counsel and then by lawmakers, is expected to last at least four days.

North will be testifying under a congressional grant of limited immunity, which means that special prosecutor Lawrence E. Walsh will not be able to use any information from North’s statements in a criminal prosecution of the Marine officer. Thus, North’s testimony will not compromise his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Although committee members have remained silent about what North said in less than two hours of private testimony last week, they have dropped hints that North is not likely to provide the final word on Reagan’s role. That may occur next week, when they are to hear from North’s former boss, ex-National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter.

A major question that will be weighed by committee members is whether they can believe North’s statements in light of evidence presented by earlier witnesses that he has been willing to make false statements to protect himself and his operation. In addition, North destroyed hundreds of documents, making it more difficult for investigators to verify his statements.

However, panel member Sen. Paul S. Trible Jr. (R-Va.) noted that the committee has uncovered mountains of other evidence. “We can weigh and measure everything North tells us against the testimony of hundreds of other witnesses and tens of thousands of documents. So I believe we will be able to ask the probing questions and demand honest answers,” Trible said.