OLIVER NORTH

Oliver North is a political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. North is primarily remembered for his term as a National Security Council staff member during the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. The scandal involved the illegal sale of weapons to Iran to encourage the release of U.S. hostages then held in Lebanon. North formulated the second part of the plan, which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, which had been specifically prohibited under the Boland Amendment. North was granted limited immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying before Congress about the scheme (and his convictions were vacated and reversed, and all charges against him dismissed in 1991). In 2018, North became president of the NRA, but he only served a single year. As of 2021, he is still alive at the age of 77.