WASHINGTON – The National Rifle Association said Monday that retired Marine lieutenant colonel Oliver North — the conservative commentator implicated in the Iran-contra scandal — will be its new…
WASHINGTON – The National Rifle Association said Monday that retired Marine lieutenant colonel Oliver North — the conservative commentator implicated in the Iran-contra scandal — will be its new president.
“Oliver North is a legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader,” Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president and CEO, said in a statement. “In these times, I can think of no one better suited to serve as our president.”
North served as President Reagan’s deputy director of the National Security Council.
North resigned in 1986 and was found guilty on three charges relating to the Iran-contra affair. In 1990, a federal judge overturned North’s convictions, and he was cleared of all charges.
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The NRA said it selected North to lead the organization after the gun lobby’s current president, Pete Brownell, announced he would not run for a second term.
Brownell said North would be the ideal successor.
“Wayne and I feel that in these extraordinary times, a leader with his history as a communicator and resolute defender of the Second Amendment is precisely what the NRA needs,” he said.
