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Iran-Contra hearing Day 24 - North answers for money spent on security system over Abu Nidal threat — Transcript

by Truther TV Archives · 2,880 words · 392 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00I'd like to separate out then the two
0:02issues raised by this will or this
0:04testamentary document you're indicating
0:06that the portion of it that provides for
0:09the monies being distributed to the
0:10estates of the individuals is a foreign
0:13notion to you the Chairman could we
0:16please have a copy of the document 2016
0:19Arrington 169
0:26[Applause]
0:32the term will mr. chairman I believe the
0:37term has been used 50 times in these
0:39hearings
0:39prior to today this is not a will and
0:42any lawyer in the room knows it's not a
0:43will
0:52it's the first time I've ever seen this
0:53document ever understood he you've said
0:57that I just want to separate out the
0:59issues there's a part of the document
1:01that provides for distribution to
1:04individuals estates in the event of
1:06death it's on the second page and I
1:10I take it your testimony is that that
1:12constant not only have you not seen the
1:14document but that concept is foreign to
1:16you you never heard of it never heard of
1:18it before I don't know how much more
1:20clearly I can put it counsel I never
1:22ever heard that proposal before that
1:25suggestion there's a second part of the
1:28document that relates simply to control
1:30over the use of the funds and that's on
1:33the first page of it second paragraph
1:35and I take it that although you never
1:40saw the document the concept that you
1:43would control disposition of the funds I
1:46don't mean in your personal capacity but
1:49in your governmental capacity in the
1:51event of the death of Hakim and secord
1:53that's not foreign to you is it well I I
1:56never professed to have control over and
1:59over a single penny of this I I elicited
2:04the cooperation of general Secord
2:05to my knowledge he cooperated in every
2:08case with the things that we asked him
2:10to do but I never once saw those words
2:14nor do I want to leave you with the
2:17impression that that this was what I had
2:19in mind when I said to them what happens
2:21if both you guys drop dead I was more
2:24than willing to have anybody else they
2:26wanted so that we could continue the
2:27activities but I didn't necessarily wish
2:31to become the the person who had to fly
2:33back and forth to Switzerland I've never
2:35even been in a Swiss bank there's been
2:39testimony that several thousand dollars
2:45was spent on a fence security system
2:50that was put in at your residence and
2:53that the monies to pay for it came from
2:58general Secord
3:00and my question to you is were you aware
3:04I take it there was a fan a security
3:06system put in at your residence there is
3:09a security system and at my residence
3:11it has since this April been
3:14sufficiently supplemented that it is now
3:16extraordinary and I take it
3:30were you aware that that security system
3:35was paid for by General C court well I'm
3:40gonna waffle an answer I'm gonna say yes
3:42and no and if you didn't indulge me I
3:44will give you another one of my very
3:46straightforward but rather lengthy
3:48answers the issue of the security system
3:52was first broached immediately after a
3:56threat on my life by Abu Nidal Abu Nidal
4:01is as I'm sure you and the intelligence
4:03committees know the principle for most
4:07assassin in the world today he is a
4:10brutal murderer when I was first alerted
4:15to that threat by the Federal Bureau of
4:17Investigation in late April I was simply
4:21told that there was a threat that had
4:22been promulgated by Abu Bakar who is the
4:27press spokesman for the Fatah
4:29Revolutionary Council which is the name
4:31of the Abu Nidal group he targeted me
4:36for assassination we then made an effort
4:39over the course of several days to have
4:41the story killed and not run in us me
4:44but the story killed and not run on the
4:48US media nonetheless it ran and I
4:51believe that date was the 28th of April
4:55the initial assessment was that this was
4:58a response to the attack on Libya which
5:02we had run a preemptive Counter
5:05Terrorist raid on Libya on the 14th of
5:07April which I had a small role to play
5:11CBS chose to run the film anyway the FBI
5:15was then contacted again and told asked
5:19what protection can be offered the FBI
5:22correctly said we don't offer protection
5:25I then sought other types of protection
5:29I went to my superiors and said what can
5:32be done contrary to what was said some
5:37days ago this lieutenant-colonel was not
5:41offered at that time
5:43any protection by the government of the
5:46United States senator Rudman I asked for
5:49it and I was told that the only thing
5:51that I could do is to immediately pcs
5:54permanent changes station you and I as
5:56Marines no well what that means and
5:58jerked out of our home and sent to Camp
6:00Lejeune in that I was preparing at the
6:03time to go to Tehran and we didn't want
6:06to tell the whole world that that was
6:08deemed not to be an appropriate thing to
6:10do the next thing that we looked at
6:13trying to do was to find a secure
6:15telephone to put in my home to justify
6:18the installation of a US government
6:21security system that too was impossible
6:25or not feasible or couldn't be done the
6:29next thing I did was to ask for a list
6:31of who installs these things for the US
6:35government maybe I can get a better
6:37price by calling them I believe it was
6:40someone in the Secret Service gave me a
6:42list of three or four of these companies
6:44that do that kind of installation I
6:47called two or three of them it is now
6:50late April early May its within days of
6:53this threat and I called and I asked can
6:56you come out and do a survey and give me
6:57an estimate and in each case I think it
7:00was two or three of them and I was at
7:03that point relatively busy I was told it
7:06will be several weeks before we can come
7:07out and do an estimate and a survey and
7:09it'll be several more weeks or months
7:10before we can complete the installation
7:12because after all summertime is our busy
7:15time at some point along in there either
7:18general Secord raised with me or I
7:20raised with him this threat and I told
7:23him I couldn't get US government
7:26protection I couldn't find a contractor
7:28to come out and do it myself and he said
7:30don't worry about that I've got a good
7:33friend or an associate I don't remember
7:35the words
7:36who's an expert this guy has a company
7:39that does these things and he's shortly
7:41thereafter I believe it was around the
7:43the fifth of May introduced me to mr.
7:46Glen Robinette he was introduced to me
7:49as a man who one had been a former CIA
7:51or perhaps I understood at the time FBI
7:54I don't remember technical expert a man
7:57who owned a security company and a man
7:59who could immediately go out and do a
8:02survey in an estimate he did over the
8:07course of the next few days he went out
8:09to my home I called my wife for told my
8:11wife whatever that he'd be out he went
8:13through the situation and he came up
8:15with an estimate of $8,500 max I thought
8:19as I recall it was 8,000 to $8,500 and
8:23he could furthermore immediately install
8:26the system now I want you to know that
8:31I'd be more than willing and if anybody
8:33else is watching overseas and I'm sure
8:35they are I'll be glad to meet abu nidal
8:38in equal terms anywhere in the world
8:41okay there's an even deal for him but I
8:45am not willing to have my wife and my
8:48four children meet abu nidal or his
8:51organization on his terms and I want you
8:55to know what was going through my mind I
8:57was about to leave for Tehran I had
9:00already been told by director Casey that
9:02I should be prepared to take my own life
9:05I had already been told that the
9:07government of the United States on an
9:09earlier proposal for a trip might even
9:12disavow the fact that I had gone on the
9:14trip on an earlier proposal and we can
9:16come back to that at some time if you
9:17like and so having been asked having
9:20asked for some type of US government
9:22protection for my wife and children and
9:25having been denied that and perhaps for
9:27fully legitimate reasons and if there is
9:29a law that prevents the protection of
9:32American government employees and their
9:34families from people like Abu Nidal then
9:37gentlemen please fix it
9:39because this kid won't be around much
9:40longer as I'm sure you know but there
9:42will be others if they take activist
9:44steps to address the problem of
9:46terrorism who will be threatened and I
9:49would like to justify may just read to
9:52you a little bit about mr. Abu Nidal
9:53just so you know my mental state at the
9:56time Abu Nidal the radical Palestinian
10:00guerrilla leader linked to last Friday's
10:02attacks in Rome in Vienna and that was
10:04the so-called Christmas Massacre
10:07in which nineteen people died and 200
10:09were wounded is the world's most wanted
10:12terrorist that's the Christian Science
10:15Monitor when you look at his whole
10:17career Abu Nidal makes the infamous
10:19terrorist Carlos looked like a boy scout
10:23Abu Nidal himself quoted under Spiegel
10:26between America and us their existing
10:28war to the death in the coming months
10:31and years Americans will be thinking
10:33about us
10:34for sheer viciousness Abu Nidal has few
10:38rivals in the underworld of terrorism
10:40Newsweek our own State Department and we
10:44have copies of these that we can make
10:46available for insertion in the record
10:48but the State Department's summary on
10:50Abu Nidal not exactly an overstatement
10:53notes that his followers who number an
10:55estimated 500 have killed as many as a
10:58hundred and eighty one persons and
11:00wounded more than 200 in two years Abu
11:04Nidal does not deny these things we also
11:09have an exhibit that we can provide for
11:11you that shows what Abu Nidal did in in
11:14the Christmas massacres one of the
11:17people killed in the Christmas Massacre
11:19and I do not wish to over dramatize this
11:23but the Abu Nidal terrorist in Rome who
11:26blasted the 11 year old American Natasha
11:29Simpson to her knees deliberately zeroed
11:34in and fired an extra burst at her head
11:37just in case gentlemen I have an 11 year
11:41old daughter not perhaps a whole lot
11:45different than Natasha Simpson and so
11:50when mr. Robinette told me on ER about
11:55the 10th of May that he could
11:58immediately install a security system
12:00I said please try to keep it to the 8080
12:04500 I am after all a Marine lieutenant
12:08colonel and I live on my salary and he
12:11installed that system and now let me go
12:13to your next question because I know
12:15it's coming and it deserves an answer
12:18I never got a bill and it is that for
12:21you wait before you solve that Ramsey
12:23answer to your question it is the answer
12:25to you I am ask me where it came from
12:27and I'm trying to tell you I am gonna
12:29ask you that question but but before he
12:30asked me the question you asked me
12:32whether or not the money came from
12:33general Secord about getting there all
12:35right okay okay when that system was
12:38installed it was practically it was
12:41totally complete it allowed for example
12:44that when my wife would trigger an alarm
12:47a an alarm would ring in the Central
12:50Station and the fairfax police would
12:53immediately be notified and that
12:55arrangement was worked out what this
12:56wasn't surreptitious the fairfax police
12:59came out he pays your taxes in fairfax
13:02county but she gets his money's worth
13:03and by golly they came out and they
13:06photographed the house and they did the
13:07normal precautionary things to respond
13:10to the kind of terrorist alert that they
13:12had been briefed on by the FBI and
13:14that's the best that they could do and
13:16it was at that point with that security
13:18system installed it was adequate that
13:21instantly they would respond to one of
13:23those emergency alarms and mr. Robinette
13:25provided it now i then went on the trip
13:29to Tehran I came back I never got a bill
13:34I didn't ask for a bill and I never
13:37received one I never asked where's the
13:41bill until well after it was too late
13:43and I'll cover that when I didn't get a
13:48bill I basically understood what had
13:52happened and I don't know exactly how it
13:55worked out but I I believe that an
13:59accommodation was worked between mr.
14:02Robinette and general Secord to make a
14:05gift out of that security system that I
14:08did not pay for when I came to the end
14:13of my tenure at the NSC it was to say
14:17the least
14:18a busy time there were other things to
14:20be done besides shredding documents when
14:22I left there was a lot of work to be
14:25done and one of the things that I did
14:26was to sit and contemplate the previous
14:28five and a half years
14:29of my work and I am proud of that work I
14:34believe that we accomplished a lot but
14:38there was one thing that just didn't
14:40look right and that was that for the
14:43first time in my life I had accepted
14:47something that I hadn't paid for and
14:49even though I honestly believe that the
14:52government of the United States should
14:54have paid for it should have put it in a
14:57then picked up the phone and asked for a
15:00bill I got a bill in fact I got two of
15:03them I didn't ask to be back dated but
15:07after all mr. Robinette is an old hand
15:09in the CIA all right the bills came with
15:13the old original dates and I think there
15:15was another bill with a later date on it
15:17and then as I told you yesterday I was
15:21going to tell you the truth the good the
15:24bad and the ugly this is the truth I did
15:27probably the grossest misjudgment that
15:30I've made in my life I then tried to
15:33paper over that whole thing by sending
15:37two phony documents back to mr.
15:40Robinette it was not an exercise in good
15:44judgment
15:45I don't believe I have any particular
15:46monopoly on bad judgment I think it was
15:50a gross error in judgment for this
15:52committee to put my home address up on a
15:56screen for the whole world to see when
15:58I've got 20 security agents guarding my
16:01wife my children and me right now I'd
16:05also like to point out that it's not
16:06quite as bad as it originally seemed
16:09this year and these things kind of come
16:13in April's I guess but this April the
16:16FBI called again this April the FBI
16:20called and told me that there was
16:22another threat on my life the big
16:26difference was this year I was back with
16:30a band of brothers that has a long
16:31reputation for taking care of its own in
16:36the United States Marine Corps and the
16:38Naval Intelligence Naval Investigative
16:40Service of Naval Intelligence
16:43together and immediately put security on
16:46me and my home where my wife and
16:49children are protected I can't tell you
16:52how grateful I am for that the security
16:55system that was installed by mr.
16:57Robinette with general C cords money or
17:01the enterprise's money or mr. Hakeem's
17:03money or I don't know whose money was
17:06put in and supplemented enormous ly by
17:10the folks some of what you're sitting in
17:11this room right now some of whom are at
17:14my home right now some of whom drive me
17:17around an armored motorcade that makes
17:19it look like European potentate but the
17:23fact is I am grateful for that
17:25assistance beyond measure because when
17:27you think about what could happen when
17:30somebody like that is out to kill you
17:32and doesn't care if he takes out your
17:33children with you you run out of options
17:36in a big hurry I ran out of options I
17:39think the government the United States
17:41should have stepped up to it and didn't
17:43whether it's because of laws or
17:44regulations I don't know I admit to
17:47making a serious serious judgment error
17:50and what I then did to paper it over and
17:52I'm willing to sit here and admit to
17:54that but I'm also suggesting to you
17:57gentlemen that if it was general C Court
17:59who paid the bill whatever it was I
18:02thought it was $8,000 didn't hurt learn
18:04until the hearing started it was more I
18:06also suggest to you that if it was
18:08general C Court first of all Thank You
18:11general C Court and second of all you
18:13guys ought to write him a check because
18:15the government should have done it to
18:16begin with
18:17thank you sir

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