Says He Was Talking About Marine’s War Record : Reagan Clarifies North ‘Hero’ Remark

President Reagan, clarifying his controversial description of former White House aide Oliver L. North as “a hero” last week, said Tuesday that he was referring to North’s war record with the Marines in Vietnam.

Meeting with a group of journalists, Reagan dodged a follow-up question about whether such heroism had been tarnished by criminal charges of conspiracy, fraud, theft and cover-up in the Iran-Contra scandal.

The President answered by saying that North and other defendants in the case, including former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter, deserve to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Asked About Pardon

Last Friday, Reagan was reminded by a student questioner that he had once called North a national hero; he was asked if he intended to pardon North and Poindexter in connection with the Iran-Contra indictments.

Reagan said that “I still think Ollie North is a hero” and he predicted that North and Poindexter would be found innocent “because I don’t think they were guilty of any lawbreaking or any crime.” Legal authorities criticized the President for expressing his views on a pending criminal case.

The President said Tuesday that he had been “too short” in remarking on North’s heroism.

“I should have augmented that and said why and that is look at the record and at the honors and the medals that have been awarded him for bravery in combat,” Reagan said.

‘Heroic Actions’

“And I have to say those were heroic actions and he is a valid hero. And that was what my answer was based on. . . . “

Reagan was asked if “the allegations of shredding documents and lying to congressional and Justice Department investigators tarnished that heroism.”

“You have said allegations,” he responded, “and now you come down to what is a kind of sore point with me about a lot of the things that have been going on with regard to people in our Administration. And that is that, some place along the line, many of us have forgotten that you are innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. And what has happened, I think, in the case of this kind is it’s just everyone accepting guilt on the basis of accusation. And I say they’ve got a right to be presumed innocent until someone proves them guilty of the charges.”

Asked About Testifying

Reagan, who was also asked if he would testify on North’s behalf if so requested, said that “I don’t know what his situation will be with regard to giving testimony or not.”

The meeting was with journalists participating in the Gannett Foundation Fellows program.

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said that Reagan made his comments last Friday because “the President believes the principle of innocence is an important principle in American jurisprudence.”

He described Reagan as “not concerned” about the criticism that ensued.

Four Plead Not Guilty

North, Poindexter and two middlemen in the Iran arms-for-hostages deal, Albert A. Hakim and Richard V. Secord, were indicted by a federal grand jury on March 16. The four pleaded not guilty last Thursday to all charges.

The indictment, sought by independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, charged the four with conspiring to defraud the government by diverting millions of dollars to Nicaragua’s rebels from covert arms sales to Iran.

While the possibility of a pardon was raised by senior White House staff members shortly after the Iran-Contra affair was revealed, senior officials have said since then that there has been no discussion of it, and Reagan has declined all comment on the issue.