Date: July 12, 2005 8:34:58 AM PDT
Subject: [Spy News] Iran-Contra figure in top Pentagon job
Iran-Contra figure in top Pentagon job
ISN SECURITY WATCH (12/07/05) - Pentagon officials confirmed on Monday that
Robert Earl, the man responsible for destroying national security documents
during the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s, has been appointed to a senior
position in the US Defense Department.
Earl is working as chief of staff to acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon
England, the Pentagon told reporters on Monday.
During the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, Earl stole and destroyed national
security records related to a secret arms deal in which the US funneled
money
from Iranian weapons sales to the Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua. Earl had
been working for Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North at the time.
Earl was granted immunity from prosecution in return for testifying in the
scandal.
The Los Angeles Times on Sunday was the first to report that Earl was
serving
as Gordon’s chief of staff.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters it was unclear why Earl’s
position had suddenly become an issue. “It was a long time ago,” Reuters
quoted him as saying. “He has served ably for many years in the department
and
in industry.”
Others, however, say the issue is too important to ignore. Mary Boyle, a
spokeswoman for the Common Cause congressional watchdog group, told Reuters
that the decision to give Earl a job in which he would again be handling
classified national security documents was not appropriate.
“That fact is that this is a very sensitive and critical job,” Boyle told
Reuters. “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.”
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