Iran-Contra Trial Witness Admits Lying at Inquiries

The main prosecution witness in ex-CIA official Clair E. George’s perjury and obstruction trial admitted Thursday that he had repeatedly lied under oath and plea-bargained with the government to avoid being branded a felon.

But Alan D. Fiers, former chief of the CIA’s Central American task force, denied considering it a victory that he escaped felony charges by pleading guilty instead to two misdemeanor charges of withholding Iran-Contra information from Congress.

“I don’t consider anything to do with Iran-Contra a victory,” Fiers said as George’s lawyer, Richard A. Hibey began cross-examining him. “I consider it all a tragedy--personal and otherwise.”

Hibey’s cross-examination was cut short when problems developed over classified information needed for the questioning. The cross-examination is expected to resume today.

During two days of questioning by chief prosecutor Craig A. Gillen this week, Fiers testified that George lied to Congress as the Iran-Contra affair began to unravel in October, 1986, with disclosures that the secret sale of arms to Iran had helped fund the Contras in Nicaragua. Fiers also testified that he was told not to reveal information that could implicate then White House aide Oliver L. North or the Administration.

Hibey asked if as part of his plea bargain, “you had to give somebody up, didn’t you?”

“That’s a fairly crass way to put it,” Fiers said. “. . . I knew I had to tell the truth” and that “colleagues and friends” would be implicated, adding that it was “not an easy decision. It came down the way it came down.”

Fiers resisted Hibey’s attempts to get him to admit that he had lied to several Iran-Contra investigating panels before striking a deal with the government a year ago. But after insisting that he had given “not a true statement,” Fiers acknowledged lying, saying, “I’ll face reality and accept the word.”

In his current job as a Washington lobbyist for W.R. Grace & Co., an international specialty chemicals firm involved in health care and energy, “you have to be believed in order to succeed?” Hibey asked Fiers.

“I have to be credible, yes,” Fiers said.

“You can’t afford to be branded a liar and a felon?” Hibey asked.

“The first is moot,” Fiers said, half-smiling. “The second is one I couldn’t afford and wouldn’t accept without a struggle.”