Thomas Clines

A middleman in the CIA's 1986 arms purchase from associates of Oliver L. North, citing national security and his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, refused last week to disclose his finances to a Georgia court. Arms dealer James P. Atwood, who is battling a half-million-dollar legal judgment, testified that "very real threats (were made) against my life for things I had done in the national security." "I have to choose my words very carefully," he said. In the Dec.

Arms middleman and retired CIA officer Thomas Clines today will become the first participant in the Iran-Contra scandal to go to prison. Clines is scheduled to serve a 16-month term at a minimum-security federal correctional facility in Schuylkill County, Pa., his lawyer, Tom Spencer, said Sunday. Federal prison officials may make a last-minute change on where Clines serves his sentence, Spencer added.

Congressional investigators on Friday interviewed Edwin P. Wilson, the convicted former CIA official, at a maximum-security prison as part of their investigation into the Iran- contra affair, officials said. Bob Havel, a spokesman for the House Iran-contra committee, said congressional staffers flew to Marion, Ill., to talk to Wilson, who knew some of the figures in the affair. "I understand he wanted to talk with them," Havel said.

A federal judge refused to dismiss tax charges brought against a former CIA agent, saying that Iran-Contra independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh has the jurisdiction to try the case, officials said Friday. As a result, the trial of Thomas G. Clines on the four-count indictment will begin as scheduled on Sept. 4 in Baltimore, said Mary Belcher, spokeswoman for Walsh's office. Clines assisted the Nicaraguan Contra arms resupply network run by Richard V. Secord and Albert A.

Arms middleman and retired CIA officer Thomas Clines today will become the first participant in the Iran-Contra scandal to go to prison. Clines is scheduled to serve a 16-month term at a minimum-security federal correctional facility in Schuylkill County, Pa., his lawyer, Tom Spencer, said Sunday. Federal prison officials may make a last-minute change on where Clines serves his sentence, Spencer added.

A federal judge refused to dismiss tax charges brought against a former CIA agent, saying that Iran-Contra independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh has the jurisdiction to try the case, officials said Friday. As a result, the trial of Thomas G. Clines on the four-count indictment will begin as scheduled on Sept. 4 in Baltimore, said Mary Belcher, spokeswoman for Walsh's office. Clines assisted the Nicaraguan Contra arms resupply network run by Richard V. Secord and Albert A.

The House committee investigating the Iran- contra affair, responding to a plea by independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, Wednesday backed away from offering limited immunity to former CIA officer Thomas Clines as a means of forcing him to testify. The move suggests that Walsh may be trying to build a case for criminal prosecution of Clines, whom Walsh described to reporters as possibly "a principal in the activities which are under investigation." "We took no action today.

It began as a shipload of weapons for the Nicaraguan Contras, secretly bought in a dark corner of the international arms bazaar from a notorious Mideast terrorist by private agents of White House aide Oliver L. North.

A federal grand jury Thursday indicted Thomas G. Clines, a former CIA operative accused of arranging arms sales in the Iran-Contra affair, on four counts of failing to pay income taxes on his share of the profits from the covert operation. Clines, 61, was a partner with retired Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord and businessman Albert A. Hakim in the secret "enterprise" directed by former White House aide Oliver L. North that shipped weapons to Iran and channeled arms to the rebels in Nicaragua.

Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, having indicted the "core four" in the Iran-Contra affair, has broadened his inquiry and shifted his attention to former CIA officials and others who may have committed crimes in the arms sale scandal, sources familiar with the case said Thursday. At the same time, Walsh appears to have strengthened his case against Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, former National Security Adviser John M.

A federal grand jury Thursday indicted Thomas G. Clines, a former CIA operative accused of arranging arms sales in the Iran-Contra affair, on four counts of failing to pay income taxes on his share of the profits from the covert operation. Clines, 61, was a partner with retired Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord and businessman Albert A. Hakim in the secret "enterprise" directed by former White House aide Oliver L. North that shipped weapons to Iran and channeled arms to the rebels in Nicaragua.

Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, having indicted the "core four" in the Iran-Contra affair, has broadened his inquiry and shifted his attention to former CIA officials and others who may have committed crimes in the arms sale scandal, sources familiar with the case said Thursday. At the same time, Walsh appears to have strengthened his case against Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, former National Security Adviser John M.

A middleman in the CIA's 1986 arms purchase from associates of Oliver L. North, citing national security and his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, refused last week to disclose his finances to a Georgia court. Arms dealer James P. Atwood, who is battling a half-million-dollar legal judgment, testified that "very real threats (were made) against my life for things I had done in the national security." "I have to choose my words very carefully," he said. In the Dec.

It began as a shipload of weapons for the Nicaraguan Contras, secretly bought in a dark corner of the international arms bazaar from a notorious Mideast terrorist by private agents of White House aide Oliver L. North.

Congressional investigators on Friday interviewed Edwin P. Wilson, the convicted former CIA official, at a maximum-security prison as part of their investigation into the Iran- contra affair, officials said. Bob Havel, a spokesman for the House Iran-contra committee, said congressional staffers flew to Marion, Ill., to talk to Wilson, who knew some of the figures in the affair. "I understand he wanted to talk with them," Havel said.

The House committee investigating the Iran- contra affair, responding to a plea by independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, Wednesday backed away from offering limited immunity to former CIA officer Thomas Clines as a means of forcing him to testify. The move suggests that Walsh may be trying to build a case for criminal prosecution of Clines, whom Walsh described to reporters as possibly "a principal in the activities which are under investigation." "We took no action today.

Former CIA agent Thomas G. Clines, who brokered arms during the Iran-Contra affair, was convicted Tuesday of four federal tax charges. A jury deliberated for 3 1/2 hours before convicting Clines, 62, of making false statements on his 1985 and 1986 tax returns. Clines, of Middleburg, Va., who helped procure arms for the Nicaraguan rebels, could be fined $1 million and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Sentencing was set for Oct. 31. Clines, who was indicted Feb.

A Central Intelligence Agency expert on the Middle East who played a key role in the Iran arms-for-hostages deals was named this week as the CIA's second-ranking clandestine operations official, government sources said Wednesday. Thomas A. Twetten, now chief of the agency's Near East and South Asia operations division, will become associate deputy director for operations, replacing an official who accepted an overseas assignment.