Oliver North

[[File:Oliver North.jpg|165px|thumb|right|Oliver North speaking at CPAC in 2017]]
{{uspolitics}}
'''Oliver North''' {{lived|October 7, 1943}}<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oliver-North Oliver North]</ref> is a military colonel most famous for his actions during the [[Iran-Contra]] scandal during the administration of [[Ronald Reagan]].

==Iran-Contra==
North is most infamous for his actions during Iran-Contra scandal, where he sold weapons to [[Iran]] and gave large amounts of the profits to a group in [[Nicaragua]] called the Contras "with the full knowledge of National Security Adviser Admiral [[John Poindexter]] and with the unspoken blessing, he assumed, of President Reagan."<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-iran/ The Iran-Contra Affair]</ref> In the process, he violated both a weapons embargo the United States had placed on Iran<ref>[https://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/reagan-explains-secret-sale-of-arms-to-iran-nov-13-1986-099742 Reagan explains secret sale of arms to Iran, Nov. 13, 1986]</ref> and a ban on funding the Contras Congress had put in effect.<ref>[https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/special/9712/appa.htm Appendix A: Background on United States Funding of the Contras]</ref>

But this was far from the only time North broke the law; he went on to admit during a televised hearing that he had previously misled Congress regarding his actions<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/08/the-nras-new-president-oliver-north-is-notorious-for-his-role-in-an-illicit-arms-deal/ ‘Olliemania’: The stage-worthy scandal that starred Oliver North as a congressional witness]</ref> along with the shredding of documents that would have provided information on what North did.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/irancontra/contra3.htm Hostile Witnesses]</ref>

For all of this and much more, North was indicted on sixteen felony counts in March 1988<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/17/world/north-poindexter-and-2-others-indicted-on-iran-contra-fraud-and-theft-charges.html NORTH, POINDEXTER AND 2 OTHERS INDICTED ON IRAN-CONTRA FRAUD AND THEFT CHARGES]</ref> with his trial starting in February of the following year.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/22/us/north-trial-opens-after-long-delay.html North Trial Opens After Long Delay]</ref> North was convicted on some of these accounts,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/5/newsid_2772000/2772471.stm 1989: Irangate colonel avoids prison]</ref> although they were all later overturned over how his witnesses could have been impermissibly affected due to his Congressional testimony.<ref>[https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm United States v. Oliver L. North]</ref>

==Later career==
===Punditry===
After the affair, North went on to become a pundit on [[Fox News]], as well as the president of the [[National Rifle Association]] in September of 2018, before resigning on April 29, 2019.

===Call of Doodoo===
North was also hired by {{wpl|Activision}} to serve as military consultant for the 2012 first-person shooter ''{{wpl|Call of Duty: Black Ops II}}'', and, in a controversial move, lent his voice and likeness in a cutscene,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-creators-say-oliver-north-helped-make-thei-5913092 |title=Call of Duty Creators Say Oliver North Helped Make Their Game More Authentic |first=Stephen |last=Totilo |date=May 24, 2012 |access-date=June 8, 2019 |work=[[Kotaku]] |publisher=[[Gizmodo Media Group]]}}</ref> never mind that he later blamed [[video game]]s for the [[Sandy Hook]] school shooting which took place in the same year.

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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Categories: Authors, Christians, Gun nuts, Living people, Murdochsphere, Political pundits, Right-wing activists, Texas