Sen. Mitchell Asks Reagan to Reject Pretrial Pardons

Sen. George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) today urged President Reagan to announce he will not pardon Oliver L. North and John M. Poindexter before trial, warning it would raise suspicions he was trying to “purchase” their silence.

Mitchell, a member of the congressional committee that investigated the Iran-Contra affair, said pardons for two of its leading figures, North and Poindexter, would implicate Reagan “even more deeply in the worst scandal of his presidency.”

“It could well become his most memorable action, overshadowing the very significant accomplishments of his two terms in office,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell’s warning to Reagan, in a Senate speech, was prompted by what he called a “public campaign” to encourage a pardon, including an announcement by Rev. Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority that he was collecting 2 million signatures on a petition.

“I call upon the President to state clearly, unequivocally and finally that he will not consider pretrial pardons for any of the Iran-Contra defendants,” Mitchell said. “The premature calls for pardons should be firmly rejected.”

Mitchell, a former federal judge, said that a President has rarely if ever been asked to grant pardons for “acts arising out of events in which he was personally involved.”

“President Reagan, of course, was deeply involved in the Iran-Contra affair,” Mitchell said.

“North’s statement, upon his retirement from the Marine Corps, that he will call as witnesses in any trial the highest officials of government, was a not-very-subtle message to the President that if he doesn’t want to testify at a trial, he’d better prevent a trial by pardoning North and Poindexter.

“But were he to do so, it would inevitably be seen as an effort by the President to spare himself the embarrassment of having to testify at trial and to purchase silence by North and Poindexter for fear of what they might say at trial,” Mitchell said.

He added, “A pardon before trial would inevitably raise suspicions that the real goal is the silence of the defendants, for fear of what may come out at trial.

“I know of no American who doubts the personal integrity of President Reagan,” Mitchell said. “But his commendable, very human loyalty to his subordinates raised corresponding questions of his commitment to the rule of law and to his public responsibilities. He can dispel those questions, and in so doing, serve further the nation he leads.”