Oliver North is coming to Wenatchee

Oliver North is coming to town, giving a speech as part of a fund-raiser for St. Paul's Lutheran Church.

Little information is available about the event other than what appears on a Mission Street billboard, but he will be here Nov. 19. North is also conducting a book tour, and he will probably try to seel a few of his books here.

North's online biography from his speaker's bureau makes plenty of mention of his assistance in rescues and planning attacks on foreign lands. It does not mention his role in the scandal that almost sunk two presidential administrations. But we all know who Oliver North is, and what he did.

Here's a refresher from Wikipedia:

North became famous due to his participation in the Iran-Contra Affair, in which he was the chief coordinator of the illegal sale of weapons via intermediaries to Iran, with the profits being channeled to the Contra rebel group in Nicaragua. He was responsible for the establishment of a covert network used for the purposes of aiding the Contras.

In November 1986, North was fired by President Reagan, and in July 1987 he was summoned to testify before televised hearings of a joint Congressional committee formed to investigate Iran-Contra. During the hearings, he admitted that he had lied to Congress, for which he was later charged. He defended his actions by stating that he believed in the goal of aiding the Contras, whom he saw as "freedom fighters," and said that he viewed the illegal Iran-Contra scheme as a "neat idea."

North was tried in 1988 in relation to his activities while at the National Security Council. He was indicted on sixteen felony counts and on May 4, 1989, he was convicted of three: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and destruction of documents (by his secretary, Fawn Hall, on his instructions). He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours community service.

However, on July 20, 1990, a three-judge appeals panel overturned North's conviction in advance of further proceedings on the grounds that his public testimony may have prejudiced his right to a fair trial. [1] The Supreme Court declined to review the case, and Judge Gesell dismissed the charges on September 16, 1991, after hearings on the immunity issue, on the motion of the independent counsel.

Essentially, North's convictions were overturned because he had been granted limited immunity for his Congressional testimony, and this testimony was deemed to have influenced witnesses at his trial.

A summary: A local church has a billboard displayed where the church announces it is sponsoring a speech by a man widely known as a convicted felon, a man whose felonies were overturned because Congress had granted limited immunity. He's a man who has since built a career as a political talking head, a hero of the Right, a losing U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia and author. But he calls himself a patriot. Critics argue no one man is above the law no matter how righteous he may be.

He is not the kind of person who should be on a billboard, and I am surprised that St. Paul's would want to be associated with such a character. It does little to help the church. Sadly, the event will probably sell well in Wenatchee, where North should prove popular. Maybe people will just want to see this lying fraud in person.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.