North Claims Meese Acted in Cover-Up : ‘Blaming Ollie’ Was ‘Way It Was Supposed to Be,’ Ex-Aide Says

WASHINGTON —  Oliver L. North testified today that he assumed a cover-up was in place when then-Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III announced on Nov. 25, 1986, that North was the pivotal figure in diverting Iran arms sales money to the Nicaraguan rebels.

Ending four days of grueling cross-examination, prosecutor John W. Keker rested his case after North said that Meese gave reporters details of the arms shipments and diversion that were “inconsistent with what I had told the attorney general two days before.”

At the news conference, Meese said North’s boss, then-National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter, had known of the diversion but hadn’t approved it.

In fact, Poindexter has said he approved the diversion.

‘Pointing the Finger’

“This was part of pointing the finger at Ollie North” as a cover-up, and that “is the way it was supposed to be,” North, the former National Security Council aide, testified. Then-President Ronald Reagan announced North’s firing from the NSC staff at the news conference.

North denied that he lied to Meese’s aides as the Iran-Contra affair was unfolding, saying that “by golly, when they raised” the diversion of money to the Nicaraguan rebels, “I told them about it.”

North said he was unable to recall many details of the Nov. 23, 1986, interview, which is documented only in handwritten notes taken by a Justice Department lawyer.

“This was a four-hour meeting with 29 pages of very cryptic notes,” said North, who is accused of obstructing the inquiry by Meese and making false statements.

North is charged with lying by allegedly omitting any mention of co-defendant Richard V. Secord’s role in the diversion of the Iranian arms sales proceeds to the Contras at a time when Congress banned aid to the rebels.

Different Account

Meese and his aides said North told them that the National Security Council had no involvement in the diversion and that Israel determined how much would be diverted.

In the interview with Meese, North also said he told Contra leader Adolfo Calero to open bank accounts in Switzerland to receive the money from Israel, according to the indictment.

North from the witness stand gave a different account of what transpired in the Sunday afternoon meeting in Meese’s office. He said he told the attorney general that Israel subtracted operational costs in the Iran weapons operation, thus determining how much was left over and available for the Contras and other projects.

North said he told Meese that the NSC was not involved in moving the diversion money through various accounts. He said he also told the attorney general that Swiss bank accounts to receive the diversion money had been set up by Secord.