Fawn Hall
| Fawn Hall | |
|---|---|
Attending a White House Christmas party in 1984
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| Born | 1959 (age 64–65) Annandale, Virginia. |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Annandale High School (1977) |
| Occupation | Secretary |
| Employer | U.S. National Security Council (1983–87) |
| Known for | Iran-Contra affair |
| Spouse(s) | Danny Sugerman (April 1993 – January 2005) (his death) |
| Partner(s) | Rob Lowe (1988) Arturo Cruz, Jr. (1985–86) |
| Parent(s) | Ronald C (stepfather) and Wilma G Hall |
Fawn Hall (born 1959) was a secretary to Lt. Colonel Oliver North and a notable figure in the Iran-Contra affair, helping him shred confidential documents.
Contents
Early life
Born in Annandale, Virginia, in 1959, Hall graduated from Annandale High School in 1977. She began working part time in a clerical position for the United States Navy, beginning in January 1976 while she was in high school.[1] After graduating, she apparently began working full time at the Pentagon for the Navy.
Involvement in Iran-Contra
Hall was detached from the Navy to work at the National Security Council on February 26, 1983, to work for Oliver North. She worked for North until she was fired on November 25, 1986, at the height of the scandal.[1] Hall's mother, Wilma Hall, was secretary to Robert McFarlane,[2] Reagan's national security advisor, North's superior and a major player in Iran-Contra.
In one mishap, Hall transposed the digits of a Swiss bank account number, resulting in a contribution from the Sultan of Brunei to the Contras being credited to a Swiss businessman's bank account instead of the intended account.[3] During the scandal, it was reported that she dated Contras politician Arturo Cruz, Jr.. It was also alleged that Hall and Jonathan Scott Royster had an affair. Much about Royster is still classified today due to his involvement and will remain classified until 2050.
In June 1987, Hall began two days of testimony in front of Congress. She confessed to altering, shredding a large number of documents (so much was destroyed, she said, that the office shredder jammed), and smuggling others, in her boots and inside her clothing and giving them to North on November 25, 1986, who was fired after his role in orchestrating potentially illegal aid to the Nicaraguan contras became public.[4][5] Among her other testimony was a claim that, "Sometimes you have to go above the law."[5] Journalist Bob Woodward recorded that her legal defense justification was summarized in her words: 'We shred everything'.[6] In 1989, in exchange for her testimony against North for Iran-Contra Scandal, she was granted immunity from prosecution.[7]
Life after Iran-Contra
After the Iran-Contra affair broke, Hall briefly went back to work for the Navy in 1987. After her congressional testimony in June 1987, she left government service and signed with the William Morris Agency[8] and unsuccessfully pursued a media career in the Washington, D.C., area. She later moved to Los Angeles, California, and pursued a modeling career for several years.[9] In April 1993, she married Danny Sugerman, former manager of The Doors.[9][10]
The Sugermans lived in an affluent section of Los Angeles called the Hollywood Hills.[9] It was reported that Sugerman introduced Hall to crack cocaine shortly after their marriage. She developed an addiction and suffered a non-lethal overdose in 1994. Afterward, she went into rehab.[9] Sugerman died in 2005 of lung cancer, and in 2007 Hall listed the house for sale for almost $2.5 million.[9][11]
Since 2012 Hall has lived a quiet life in West Hollywood, working at a bookstore and staying out of the public eye.[9]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Meet Iran Affair's 'Mystery Woman', Philadelphia Inquirer, February 25, 1987.
- ↑ Reeves, Richard. President Reagan: Triumph of Imagination. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2005, p. 367.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Hall Details Effort To Hide North's Role Destroyed Documents On Contra Aid, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 9, 1987
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Bob Woodward: Veil: the Secret Wars of the CIA 1981-1987, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987, p. 501
- ↑ Hall, North Trial Testimony, 3/22/89, pp. 5311–16, and 3/23/89, pp. 5373–80, 5385–87; Chapter 5 Fawn Hall 147
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
- Hall, North Trial Testimony, 3/22/89, pp. 5311–16, and 3/23/89, pp. 5373–80, 5385–87; Chapter 5 Fawn Hall 147
- Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters Volume I - Investigations and Prosecutions: Lawrence E. Walsh, Independent Counsel, August 4, 1993; Washington, D.C.
External links
- Fawn Hall at the Internet Movie Database
