Reagan Calls North a Hero, Says All 4 Will Be Acquitted : Perplexed by ‘Worst’ Scandal Tag

President Reagan said today that he still thinks fired National Security Council aide Oliver L. North is a hero and that he does not believe any of the Iran-Contra criminal defendants committed a crime.

Fielding questions after making a speech to young people representing the Center for the Study of the Presidency, Reagan said he thought that North, along with former national security adviser John M. Poindexter and other defendants, will be acquitted of charges brought against them in a federal grand jury indictment.

Reagan said he could not understand why the arms-to-Iran initiative had become his Administration’s worst political scandal.

“I still think Ollie North is a hero,” Reagan said when asked if he was considering a pardon for his former aide, who retired last week from the U.S. Marine Corps.

All Pleaded Innocent

On Thursday, North and Poindexter, along with arms dealers Richard V. Secord and Albert A. Hakim, pleaded innocent to federal conspiracy and theft charges in connection with the Iran-Contra affair.

Former national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane had earlier pleaded guilty to reduced charges stemming from the arms-to-Iran deal.

After telling his audience that the subject of pardons is “something I can’t discuss now,” Reagan added:

“I just have to believe that they’re going to be found innocent because I don’t believe they’re guilty of lawbreaking of any kind.”

Announced Firing of North

Reagan has said on past occasions that he did not believe any laws were broken in the affair, which came to light in early November, 1986.

On Nov. 25, 1986, Reagan appeared in the White House press room to announce that North had been fired and that Poindexter had resigned.

Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III came onto the podium a few moments later to announce that the Administration had uncovered information indicating that proceeds from the arms sales to Tehran had been diverted to the Nicaraguan Contras.

Reagan, who has admitted that the arms sales to Iran became an attempt to ransom American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon, said today that the primary purpose of the operation was to curry favor in Tehran.