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| Pentagon confirms Iran-Contra figure in senior job |
| 2005-07-12 |
| Robert Earl, who destroyed national security documents during the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, is working as chief of staff to acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, the Pentagon said yesterday. Earl destroyed and stole national security documents while working for Lt Col Oliver North during a secret arms deal with Iran in which the US passed money from those weapons sales to Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua, according to a report to Congress by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed Earl was a senior England aide, a fact first reported in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. He added, "I wonder why it's an issue now." "It was a long time ago," Whitman said. "He has served ably for many years in the department and in industry." Earl was granted immunity for his testimony in the Iran-Contra scandal and was never prosecuted. John Ullyot, spokesman for Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, said the Pentagon informed the committee about the issue. He declined any further comment. But congressional watchdog groups raised questions about the administration's decision to give such a senior job to a person with a record of tampering with the very kinds of classified national security documents he will now oversee. "That fact is that this is a very sensitive and critical job," said Mary Boyle, spokewoman for Common Cause. "While it is true that people can pay their debts to society ... this is a job that should be filled by someone who is beyond reproach." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #3 It matches the relative wrist slap Berger received. They only take this stuff seriously when it's someone below the high pay grades, no matter which side of the aisle. |
| Posted by: VAMark 2005-07-12 14:45 |
#2 "While it is true that people can pay their debts to society ... this is a job that should be filled by someone who is beyond reproach."In other words, someone the Left likes. Wotta krokka shiite. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-07-12 13:16 |
| #1 It is an OUTRAGE this man is not in prison. That the Republicans allow him to be associated with their administration, shows what a bunch of crooks they all are. |
| Posted by: Sandy Berger 2005-07-12 12:19 |