Poindexter, John
Identification U.S. Navy admiral and Iran-Contra
defendant
Born August 12, 1936; Odon, Indiana
Poindexter was the highest-ranking defendant in the Iran-
Contra scandal, which injured the reputation of Ronald
Reagan’s presidential administration.
When John Poindexter joined the Ronald Reagan
administration, he had a long career of outstanding
naval service behind him. He had graduated first in
his class from the United States Naval Academy and
subsequently earned master’s and doctorate degrees
from the California Institute of Technology in nu-
clear physics. He held numerous prestigious com-
mands in the Navy, specializing in destroyers when at
sea but also holding significant staff appointments.
In 1981, President Reagan asked Vice Admiral
Poindexter to become his deputy national security
adviser. Poindexter subsequently became national
security adviser in 1983. He played a significant role
in the development of the Strategic Defense Initia-
tive (SDI), sometimes called the “Star Wars” de-
fense, which was intended to create a space-based
defense against ballistic missles. He was also involved
in theAchille Lauroincident, in which American
Leon Klinghoffer was murdered, and the Reykjavik
Summit with the Soviet Union. However, it was his
involvement with the Iran-Contra affair that brought
him into the public view.
As national security adviser, Poindexter was
deeply involved in the covert operation to circum-
vent the will of Congress by continuing to aid the
Nicaraguan Contras. He helped organize the clan-
destine program to sell weapons to Iran and to fun-
nel the money from those sales to the Contras. By
1986, the scheme was beginning to unravel, and
Congress summoned Poindexter, along with several
other key Reagan administration figures, to testify
about their actions. Poindexter repeatedly asserted
his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimina-
tion. Although this was legally correct, and probably
done on the advice of his lawyers, it created an im-
pression that he was both guilty and willfully ob-
structing the constitutionally mandated checks and
balances upon the executive branch by the legisla-
tive branch. His actions, along with those of co-
conspirator Oliver North, were also suspected to be
intended to cover up the personal culpability of the
president.
In March, 1988, a criminal indictment was leveled
against Poindexter, charging that he had acted devi-
ously, not for the benefit of the president or Ameri-
can interests, but for his own selfish profit. The trial
quickly devolved into a circus of finger-pointing
and blame-shifting, but the naturally self-effacing
Poindexter was found guilty on all five counts.
Impact Poindexter never received the level of pub-
lic acclamation that North received, largely because
of his self-effacing nature and the sense that he had
acted selfishly rather than patriotically. His name
did remain associated with the Iran-Contra affair
throughout his later career, however.
Subsequent Events Poindexter had been com-
pelled to testify before Congress on the condition
that his statements made at the hearings could not
be used against him. In 1991, a court concluded that
it was possible the evidence in his later criminal trial
had been tainted by his public testimony, and his
conviction was therefore overturned.766 Poindexter, John The Eighties in America
John Poindexter in 1985.(U.S. Department of Defense)