Records of Lawrence Walsh relating to Iran/Contra

1986 to 1993
Volume: 1,948 feet

The records of Independent Counsel Walsh include security classified and otherwise sensitive information. Thousands of pages arecurrently released. Other documents may be requested under theFreedom of Information Act. The documents are NOT available on line. For access to these records, contact the Special Access and FOIA Program:

Write: Special Access and FOIA Program
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740

Call: (301) 837-3190

E-mail:specialaccess_foia@nara.gov

For additional information about records of Independent Counsels in the National Archives and Records Administration, please visit theSpecial Prosecutors and Independent Counsels Home Page.

• Administrative History
• Organization of Records
• Selected Subjects of Previously Released Records
• ASCII Version of Volume 1 of the Final Report
• Related Congressional Records

Administrative History of the Office of Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh

1986 to 1994
Predecessor Organizational Unit: The "Front Door" investigation, started by Federal Bureau of Investigation in November of 1986, was transferred when Lawrence Walsh was appointed Independent Counsel on December 19, 1986.

Administrative History: In October and November 1986, two secret U.S. Government operations were publicly exposed, potentially implicating Reagan administration officials in illegal activities: the provision of assistance to the military activities of Nicaraguan contra rebels during an October 1984 to October 1986 prohibition on such aid, and the sale of U.S. arms to Iran in contravention of stated U.S. policy and in possible violation of arms-export controls. In late November 1986, Reagan administration officials announced that some of the proceeds from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran had been diverted to the contras.

On November 26, 1986, the Attorney General ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation to begin an investigation of the Iran/Contra episode. On December 19, 1986, Lawrence Walsh was appointed Independent Counsel to proceed with the investigation. Several members of the FBI's investigative team were assigned to Walsh's office to assist.

Judge Walsh established a three city operation (Washington, DC, New York City, and Oklahoma City), hired attorneys, and requested that staff be detailed from the Customs Service and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the FBI. The staff divided its work among several teams: the White House/National Security Council/Department of Justice team; the Central Intelligence Agency/State Department Team; and the Flow-of-Funds/Department of Defense team. When Congressional leaders stated in early meetings between the Independent Counsel and the Congressional committees also investigating the Iran/Contra affair that Congress was likely to grant immunity to several central figures in the investigation, Judge Walsh doubled the size of his staff and took steps to focus the investigation on the gathering of as much evidence as possible before the grant of immunity tainted it. Congress granted immunity to Oliver North, John Poindexter, and Albert Hakim in May and June of 1987.

On March 16, 1988, the grand jury handed down a 23 count indictment against Poindexter, North, Hakim, and Richard Secord. Trials for each defendant were held separately. Hakim pleaded guilty on two counts. Secord pleaded guilty to one. North was convicted on three counts, but a three-judge appeals panel later vacated all counts on the grounds that immunized Congressional testimony tainted his trial. Poindexter was convicted on five counts, which the panel also vacated.

After the "case-in-chief" trials ended, the Office of the Independent Counsel focused on other individuals suspected of having assisted or having falsely denied knowledge of Iran/contra activities. The Office charged ten additional persons with criminal violations; seven of the individuals were convicted; one CIA official's case was dismissed on national security grounds; and President Bush pardoned two defendants before their trials.

On August 4, 1993, Lawrence Walsh submitted his final report to the President.

Organization of Records

Central Files

• Master Interagency
• Master Correspondence
• Master Classified
• Master Interoffice
• Master Public Correspondence
• Master Congressional Correspondence

Records of the New York OfficeCourt Records

• Indexes to Court Filings
• Criminal Case Files
• Civil Case Files
• Miscellaneous Case Files
• Exhibits, Fernandez CIPA
• Exhibits,U.S. v. Secord
• Exhibits, Kastigar, Government Defense Exhibits
• Remand Hearings
• Subpoenas
• Court Filings,U.S. v. Clair E. George
• Court Filings,U.S. v. Poindexter
• Court Filings,U.S. v. Weinberger
• Digests of Testimony
• Recordings of Depositions and Testimony
• Deposition Exhibits
• Reference Materials indirectly related to cases
• Grand Jury Exhibits
• Grand Jury Cassette Recordings

Attorney Files

• Baker, Thomas E.
• Barrett, John Q.
• Been, Vicki L.
• Bellows, Randy I.
• Berman, Geoffrey S.
• Bever, Thomas D.
• Blaney, Bryan
• Bromwich, Michael R.
• Brosnahan, James
• Douglass, John G.
• Ellis, Steven A.
• Feldman, James A.
• Francis, Vernon
• Friedman, Paul
• Gillen, Craig A.
• Green, Bruce A.
• Harleston, Jeffrey S.
• Hassler, William T.
• Hetherton, Judith
• Jordan, Sandra D.
• Keker, John W.
• Lee, William F.
• Longstreth, Robert C.
• Loughlin, Walter P.
• Mark, Gregory A.
• Mixter, Christian J.
• Radin, Louise R.
• Roth, Kenneth
• Shtasel, Laurence S.
• Sloan, Clifford M.
• Spaulding, Christina A.
• Stewart, Geoffrey S.
• Struve, Guy Miller
• Todd, K. Chris
• Toobin, Jeffrey R.
• Treanor, William M.
• Vhay, Michael D.
• Wallach, Laurie
• Walsh, Lawrence E.
• Weingarten, Reid H.
• Wilkins, Samuel A.
• Wolfson, Evan C.
• Yannett, Bruce E.
• Zornow, David M.
• Miscellaneous-- Unknown

Paralegal Files

• Blakely, Joyce A.
• Breen, Carolyn S.
• Olsen, Fredrich
• Picker, Leonard I.
• Zelenko, Barbara S.
• Miscellaneous-- Unknown

Detailed Agency Staff

• IRS Agent
• Foster, Michael
• Fox, Bill

Security Office FilesFiles of FOIA Officer Pamela Krems

• Administrative Records
• FOIA Requests
• Litigation Files
• Oliver North Notebooks, Set 1
• Oliver North Notebooks, Set 2
• Oliver North Notebooks, Set 3
• Oliver North Notebooks, Set Provided to Plaintiffs in North Notebook Suit

Press Office Files

• Subject Files of Press Officers James Wieghart and Mary Belcher
• Working Papers of Press Officer Mary Belcher
• Subject Files of Deputy Press Officer Ruth "Sam" Witucki
• Correspondence-- with response
• Correspondence-- no response
• Press Clippings
• "Green" Press Clippings
• Miscellaneous Press Clippings Regarding Oliver L. North
• Early Contra and Iran News Stories, 1986
• Press Office Notebooks
• Interim Reports to Congress
• James Wieghart's Taint Files
• Staff Media Contacts
• Financial Work Product
• Video Cassette Tapes

IC 58-11887

• Sections 1 to 16
• Bulky Evidence

IC 600-1 File

• Closed
• Open
• Enclosures
• Bulky Evidence

Green SheetsInitialed SerialsEvidence Control LogsSealed Material Lodged with Clerk Pursuant to Chief Judge Robinson's 4/10/87 Sealing Order in Misc. 87-124 [Canned Material]IRG Review, Case-in-ChiefUnknown BulkiesMiscellaneous Records, Tainted MaterialWhite House Document RequestsCIA Documents Summaries

• Dates
• Topics
• Receipt Numbers

Records Created by the FBI

• Administrative Records
• FBI 302's
• FBI Audiotapes
• FBI Namechecks

Congressional Records

• Iran/Contra Hearing Transcripts
• Exhibits to Congressional Testimony
• Videotapes of Hearings
• Federal News Service, Transcripts of North Testimony, July 1987
• Videos of 1987 Hearings
• Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Transcripts
• House Select Committee on Intelligence Transcripts

Final Report

• Copies of Final Report
• Classified Section
• Report Preparation
• Page Proofs
• Exhibits to Final Report
• Exhibits to Final Report, Duplicate Set

General Administrative Records

• Crank Mail
• Visitors Logs
• OIC-FPS Reports
• Telephone Logs

Selected Subjects of Previously Released Records

• Adams, Justin
• Atkins, Liam
• Bode, William
• Bueso Rosa, Jose
• Bush, George
• Bush, George (Discovery and Production of his Transcribed Diaries in 1992)
• Bustillo, Juan Rafael
• Castillo, Celerino
• Channel, Carl Russell "Spitz"
• Christian, Barbara Bullitt
• Clark, Judge William P.
• Corr, Edwin G.
• Drugs
• Drugs-- Norwin Meneses and Danilo Blandon
• Durrani, Arif
• Earl, Robert
• Erria
• Fiers, Alan
• Golden, William T.
• Grasheim, Walter
• International Medical Centers
• Jenkins, Carl
• Jenkins, Louis ("Woody") and Diane-- Friends of the Americas; Nicaraguan Refuge Fund
• Lister, Ronald
• McDuffie, Glenn C.
• Mena, Arkansas
• Messing, F.A.
• Morabia, David
• Morabia, Nan
• Mug Shots
• North, Oliver-- Lies
• North, Oliver-- Schedule
• North, Oliver-- Mug Shots
• North, Oliver-- Notebooks
• October Surprise
• Owen, Robert
• Pino-Marina, Nestor
• Posada, Luis
• Powell, Colin
• Press Office Files
• Reagan, Ronald
• Reagan Deposition inU.S. v. Poindexter
• Rehnquist, Janet
• Richard, Mark
• Steele, Col. James
• Studley, Barbara
• Swan Island
• Weekly, David Scott
• Weld, William
• Wheaton, Milton Gene
• Yellow Fruit
• Zucker, Willard