Sen. Hatch Says He Hopes North Won’t Be Tried

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, a chief Administration supporter in the Iran- contra hearings, speculated today that Lt. Col. Oliver L. North may eventually be prosecuted but said he doesn’t want that to happen and “I don’t think many people in America do.”

With North winding up his five days of congressional testimony, all of it delivered under a grant of immunity from prosecution based on his words, the question of possible indictment by the special prosecutor was later put to several other committee members, with varying responses.

Hatch (R-Utah), during his turn to question North, predicted that “there’s going to be one lot of hell raised” if Special Prosecutor Lawrence E. Walsh obtains an indictment in his separate criminal investigation.

‘Last Pound of Flesh’

While expressing his hope, however, Hatch said it wouldn’t surprise him if some “sticklers” tried to pursue “the last pound of flesh” against the former White House aide, who managed the Iran-contra operations.

During a break in the hearing, Sen. Howell Heflin (D-Ala.), a former state Supreme Court chief justice, said he does not believe that Walsh could persuade a grand jury to approve criminal charges against North.

“I don’t believe you’ll ever get a jury that will indict him. I think people feel he’s gone through enough as it is, regardless of technicality” Heflin said.

Heflin had said in early May, during the testimony of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord, one of North’s Iran-contra operatives, that he expected Secord to be indicted.

However, Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) said of North, “I think he waits for Judge Walsh to indict him.”

“I don’t think Judge Walsh has that much staff and that long-term lease for nothing,” he said during a break in the hearing.

Walsh, a former federal judge, has signed a two-year lease for office space, with an option for a third year. He has a staff including 24 attorneys, 35 FBI agents and 15 Customs and Internal Revenue Service agents.

Sen. George J. Mitchell (D-Me.), a former federal judge, declined to make a prediction on what the grand jury will do. But he added, “There are at least indications that covert actions were conducted without authority and without accountability.”