Oliver North Pleads the Fifth During Iran Contra Hearings — Transcript

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1. 0:00Colonel, we
2. 0:01appreciate you coming here and one of
3. 0:03the purposes also is to make this forum
4. 0:06available to you
5. 0:08to say whatever you want to say at this
6. 0:11point.
7. 0:12Uh Mr. Chairman,
8. 0:14Mr.
9. 0:15Uh we appreciate the opening remarks of
10. 0:18the chairman and the other congressman.
11. 0:21It should come as no surprise that
12. 0:23responsible counsel
13. 0:26will advise the colonel to assert his
14. 0:28constitutional right not to testify.
15. 0:30That is what we have done and that is
16. 0:33what we will continue to do.
17. 0:35In that regard,
18. 0:36the colonel has a brief statement to
19. 0:39make to the committee and we appreciate
20. 0:40the opportunity to do so. Thank you, Mr.
21. 0:43Solomon. Lieutenant Colonel North.
22. 0:45Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the
23. 0:46committee.
24. 0:48And thank you, Mr. Solomon.
25. 0:51I am anxious, as I know that you are, to
26. 0:53put this matter behind us and to
27. 0:56facilitate the important business of
28. 0:58protecting the national security
29. 1:00interests of the United States.
30. 1:02I share your desire to put this issue to
31. 1:04rest quickly and fully
32. 1:07and to further that end, I want to be
33. 1:08able to provide a full exposition of the
34. 1:11facts
35. 1:12as I know them on this matter.
36. 1:16In that regard, you know that I am and
37. 1:19have been since June of 1968
38. 1:22an officer of the United States Marine
39. 1:24Corps.
40. 1:26As such, I have taken an oath
41. 1:29to support and defend the Constitution
42. 1:31of the United States.
43. 1:33I have tried to do so honorably.
44. 1:36In the course of investigating this
45. 1:37matter,
46. 1:39members of this body,
47. 1:41others have suggested that statutes may
48. 1:43have been violated
49. 1:45and an independent counsel has been
50. 1:47requested by the Attorney General.
51. 1:50Despite my very strong desire
52. 1:54to provide Congress with my recollection
53. 1:57of the facts pertaining to this matter,
54. 1:59counsel has advised me that I should
55. 2:02avail myself of the protections provided
56. 2:05by that same Constitution that I have
57. 2:08fought
58. 2:09to support and defend.
59. 2:12I intend to follow that advice exactly.
60. 2:16Thank you very much, Colonel.