THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090601
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
In a ``60 Minutes'' interview set to air Sunday, former National Security Adviser Robert ``Bud'' McFarlane calls Republican candidate Oliver L. North a ``degenerate liar'' who has ``no business in the U.S. Senate.''
``He lies to me, to the Congress, to the president. This is not somebody you want in public life,'' says McFarlane, who was North's boss in the Reagan administration from 1983 to 1985. CBS News released McFarlane's statements in a partial transcript of the interview.
A North campaign spokesman replied that McFarlane's statements are nothing more than his attempt to ``salvage his sullied reputation at the expense of Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Oliver North.''
``No one's going to buy it,'' said Mark Merritt, North's deputy campaign manager.
McFarlane's appearance on ``60 Minutes'' is timed to publicize his soon-to-be released book, ``Special Trust,'' which includes his take on the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s.
McFarlane pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors stemming from Iran-Contra. He admitted providing misleading accounts to congressmen investigating 1985 reports about North-led efforts to support rebels fighting the leftist government of Nicaragua. He was ordered to serve two years of probation, perform 200 hours of community service and pay a $20,000 fine.
McFarlane agreed to serve as a prosecution witness against North, who was convicted of three felony charges stemming from Iran-Contra. An appeals court later overturned North's convictions, saying the trial judge failed to ensure that prosecutors did not rely on immunized testimony North gave before a congressional panel in 1987.
McFarlane has been at odds with North ever since, and has missed few opportunities to brand the retired Marine as unfit for office.
In the ``60 Minutes'' interview, McFarlane says North betrayed the trust Reagan placed in him by diverting money from Iranian arms sales to the Contras.
``For him, having dishonored his family name, betrayed his friends, he has to wash away the stain somehow,'' McFarlane says. ``And the way to do it is to con the people of Virginia into saying 'You are an honest man.' I'm not hopeful about Ollie North. I mean, the guy has no business in the U.S. Senate.''
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE ELECTION by CNB