North Tells of Grateful Reagan Call

President Reagan telephoned Oliver L. North the day he was fired from his White House job and told him, “Thank you for all your work,” the former National Security Council aide recalled at his trial today.

Taking the witness stand for a third day, North also testified that he never believed that any of the secret work he did for the Nicaraguan Contra rebels or for the freedom of American hostages in Lebanon was illegal.

Prosecutor John Keker opened what could be the most intense questioning of the 8-week-old trial--the cross-examination of North--by reminding North that he is not charged with violating a congressional ban on aid to the Contras or with any crime solely because of his efforts to free the American captives.

“Do you know what you are on trial for?” Keker asked.

“Well,” North replied, pausing studiously, “it’s 12 counts of various charges; I don’t recall specifically.”

Accusations Recited

Keker then listed the particular accusations against North--among them lying to Congress, tax fraud and accepting an illegal gift--and each time asked the witness if he remembered the charge. The defendant quietly responded, “Yes.”

The questions began after defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan, concluding his own examination, drew from his client repeated references to the claim that North had authorization from the top level of the Reagan Administration for all his actions--managing a secret network to supply the Contra rebels and arranging for clandestine U.S. arms sales to Iran in 1985 and 1986.

To hammer that notion home for the jury, North recalled the day he was fired from the NSC staff, Nov. 25, 1986, amid the revelation that profits from the arms sales had been diverted to the Contras.

After he left the White House, North said, he went to a local hotel. With head bowed, he remembered that Reagan called him and said: “Thank you for all your work. Sorry that it happened the way it did. You’re an American hero.”

“He asked me to understand--he didn’t know, words to that effect,” North said. “I thanked him and said I was sorry it created so much difficulty for him and the country.”