George’s Contra Trial Has Kerry as First Witness

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is scheduled to be the lead witness when testimony begins today in the Iran-Contra trial of former CIA spymaster Clair E. George.

Twelve jurors and six alternates--including a hairdresser, a secretary, a real estate agent and a postal clerk--were chosen Thursday and sworn in by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth.

George, the former No. 3 CIA official in charge of all overseas spy operations, is accused of concealing from Congress the agency’s knowledge of then-White House aide Oliver L. North’s secret military supply network for the Nicaraguan Contras.

George has pleaded innocent to three charges of obstructing Congress and a federal grand jury and six counts of perjury and making false statements.

Prosecutors notified Lamberth that the first witness would be Kerry, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when George testified before the panel after the Oct. 5, 1986, downing of one of the supply network’s planes in Nicaragua.

The chief government witness will be Alan D. Fiers, the former head of the CIA’s Central America Task Force. He is expected to testify that George ordered him to remove details about North’s operation from a statement to be given to Congress.