THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410230062
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HERNDON LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb on Saturday accused his Republican challenger, former White House aide Oliver L. North, of looking the other way when presented with evidence that pilots flying supplies to Nicaraguan rebels in the mid-1980s were smuggling drugs on return flights to the United States.
``During a time when we were spending millions of dollars trying to stop drugs at our borders, Oliver North's office in the White House was the secret passage to bypass the DEA and U.S. Customs,'' Robb said.
A North spokesman fired back with charges of ``utter hypocrisy.''
``Chuck Robb partied with the sleaziest drug dealers and hookers in Virginia while serving as governor and chief law enforcement officer of this state,'' said Mark Merritt, North's deputy campaign manager. ``And now he is accusing Oliver North of looking the other way?''
Robb, anticipating that North would try to change the subject, argued that North had an ``obligation'' to respond to reports published Saturday suggesting North knew of possible drug smuggling by pilots hired to supply Contra rebels seeking to overthrow the then-communist government of Nicaragua.
The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star and The Washington Post both reported Saturday on diary entries in North's handwriting, findings of a bipartisan congressional investigation and opinions of government officials all indicating that North was aware of drug trafficking. The papers found no documents or government officials to support North's claim - made during sworn testimony to Congress in 1987 - that he passed on drug rumors to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
Robb called the newspaper accounts ``prima facie'' evidence that North committed perjury during his sworn congressional testimony. He challenged North to come forward with DEA officials who can corroborate his account.
Merritt said Saturday evening that he would contact North about providing names.
In the meantime, the North campaign countered the newspaper reports with statements from two ranking Reagan administration officials, ex-National Security Advisor John Poindexter and former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams.
``I know that Ollie passed on rumors like that to me, the DEA and the CIA,'' Poindexter said. ``There was never enough evidence to warrant further investigation.
``These rumors seemed to originate from individuals or groups that were politically opposed to the democratic resistance.''
Robb said North was willing to do anything - from lying to Congress to ignoring drug smuggling - to achieve his goal in Nicaragua.
``This is another case of Oliver North assuming his personal interest was more important than the national interest,'' Robb told reporters at an annual Herndon High School parade.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES by CNB