Fawn Hall Reportedly Admits Cocaine Use When at NSC

Former White House secretary Fawn Hall, questioned as part of an extensive federal drug investigation in the Georgetown area, has told the Drug Enforcement Administration that she used cocaine many times during a three-year period when she held sensitive jobs on the National Security Council staff and at the Pentagon, according to sources.

However, her attorney, Plato Cacheris, Friday denied that Hall had admitted frequent use of cocaine.

Hall was interviewed by a DEA agent about her knowledge of Georgetown drug dealing on Aug. 7, 1987--two months after she gained national prominence by testifying at the congressional Iran-Contra hearings about her work as personal secretary to Oliver L. North when he was an NSC aide, the sources said.

Dozens Interviewed

The DEA’s Washington field office has interviewed dozens of Washington-area residents--including lawyers, real estate brokers, businessmen and other professionals--who frequented popular Georgetown bars and nightclubs where drug dealing and use were reported to be rampant in the mid-1980s, according to the sources.

Indictments are expected, and sources said that they may allege widespread use of drugs at exclusive clubs attended by a social elite of upper- and middle-class Washington.

The sources stressed that Hall is not a target of the investigation, which has focused on drug dealers, rather than users, operating in the Georgetown area. One source said Hall remains a potential grand jury witness in the investigation.

No Claims of Trafficking

The sources said there are no allegations that Hall ever trafficked in drugs, used cocaine in the White House or suffered any drug-abuse problem that might have influenced her work for the government.

“There were no hints that she was cocaine dependent,” one source said.

Hall, now living in Los Angeles and pursuing a career in the entertainment industry, could not be reached for comment.

In the 1987 interview, reportedly conducted in the office of her lawyer, Cacheris, Hall was confronted with allegations from several witnesses that she had engaged in illegal drug use at Georgetown nightclubs, the sources said.

Hall acknowledged being a “weekend” cocaine user in 1985-87, and she provided the DEA with the names of some alleged drug sellers, the sources said.

Hall was unable to estimate how many times she had used cocaine. When asked if it had been as often as 40 times, Hall replied, “Possibly,” the sources said.

Lawyer Issues Denial

In an interview Friday, Cacheris denied that Hall had acknowledged using cocaine as many as 40 times. “Absolutely not . . . “ he said. “I’m not admitting anything happened at my office.”

In a subsequent interview Saturday, Cacheris said: “Is there any allegation that she was unable to function at her job? Miss Hall has never been under any investigation for drugs . . . . I do not think she’s a prospective witness before any grand jury for any purpose . . . . As for the rest of your story, I have no comment.”

Cacheris said he would not make Hall available to be interviewed.

As North’s secretary, Hall had access to some of the most sensitive national security documents in the government and had been given a high-level security clearance. At the White House, she typed memoranda and handled documents relating to planning for the invasion of Grenada, counterterrorism operations, the secret arms sales to Iran and North’s covert operations to arm the Nicaraguan Contras.

The allegations about Hall were reported to top levels of the DEA and sparked a brief discussion over how they should be handled, sources said. There was concern that the agency might be accused of a cover-up if it failed to pursue the matter, according to one source familiar with the discussions.

Allegations Called Common

One senior DEA official said that allegations against well-known figures like Hall are frequently made during DEA investigations. But the agency’s primary mission is to focus on traffickers, not Americans who might use drugs, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

According to several friends and former associates of Hall, she enjoyed attending a number of popular Georgetown nightspots during the time she was working for the government. But none of those interviewed said that they had ever seen her use drugs.

“I consider myself her best friend, and I can’t believe this,” said Katy Dickey, who works for a Washington public relations firm. “Fawn never said anything to me about this . . . . I’m totally flabbergasted.”

Arturo Cruz Jr., son of a former leader of the Nicaraguan Contras who dated Hall in 1986, said he had accompanied her on several occasions to Georgetown nightclubs and bars, including Club Desiree, Pisces and Nathan’s. “I never saw her do anything of that kind,” he said. “She was always a perfect lady.”