Whereas Poindexter defended the President staunchly, North did not. North genuinely believed that his orders were issued by the President, via Poindexter and McFarlane before him ("United States v. Oliver L. North").

Poindexter testified that he "deliberately withheld the information from President Reagan because 'I wanted the President to have some deniability so that he would be protected,'" ("United States v. John M. Poindexter").

According to the National Security Archives, Poindexter's testimony served as a diversionary "tactic developed mainly by Attorney General Edwin Meese."

North's "powerful, can-do persona, his enthusiastic commitment to both operations, and his ruthlessness to make them succeed" elevated him to celebrity villain status ("United States v. Oliver L. North").

It was later leaked that North "attracted drug traffickers looking for cover for their operations, then turned a blind eye to repeated reports of drug smuggling related to the contras, and actively worked with known drug smugglers...
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