Fawn Hall (born 1959) is a former secretary to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North who gained fame for her role in the

Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair (; ), also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitat ...

by helping North shred confidential documents.

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 The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, beginning in January 1976 while she was in high school. After graduating, she began working full-time for the Navy at the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

. In 1987, Hall lived in Annandale, with her mother and stepfather.

Involvement in Iran–Contra

Hall was detailed from the Navy to work at the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

on February 26, 1983, as Oliver North's secretary. She worked for North until she was fired on November 25, 1986, at the height of the scandal.Meet Iran Affair's 'Mystery Woman'
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', February 25, 1987. Hall's mother, Wilma Hall, was secretary to Robert McFarlane, Reagan's national security advisor, North's superior and a major player in the Iran–Contra affair. 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. In June 1987, Hall, herself, began two days of testimony in front of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. 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. Among her other testimony was an assertion that, "Sometimes you have to go above the law." Journalist

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs ...

recorded that her legal defense justification was summarized in her words: "We shred everything". In 1989, in exchange for her testimony against North for the Iran–Contra affair, she was granted immunity from prosecution.

Life after the Iran–Contra affair

After the Iran–Contra affair broke, Hall briefly went back to work for the Navy in 1987 for less than 6 months. She was invited to the 1987 White House Correspondents' Dinner by journalist Michael Kelly. After her congressional testimony in June 1987, she left government service and signed with the

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best-known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ...

and unsuccessfully pursued a media career in the Washington, D.C., area. ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' and '' Penthouse'' offered six-figure payments for nude photoshoots to Hall, as well as two other women involved in high-profile 1987 scandals, Donna Rice and Jessica Hahn. Hall and Rice declined all offers, whereas Hahn agreed to appear in ''Playboy''. In April 1990, Hall was a freelance TV reporter in Pittsburgh. In 1992, Hall worked for a law firm in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and she pursued a modeling career for several years. Hall dated the actor Rob Lowe who tracked her down after seeing her at the Oliver North trial, and the couple attended Jack Lemmon's AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony in 1988. In April 1993, Hall married Danny Sugerman, former manager of

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

. The Sugermans lived in the Hollywood Hills. She was a

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

user when she held jobs on the

staff and at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

. It was reported that Sugerman introduced Hall to crack cocaine shortly after their marriage. She became addicted and suffered a non-lethal overdose in 1994, following which she went into rehab. Sugerman died in 2005 of lung cancer, and in 2007 Hall listed the house for sale for almost $2.5 million, and in 2014, it was acquired for only $1.96 million. As of 2012, Hall was living in West Hollywood, working at a bookstore and staying out of the public eye.

Citations

General and cited 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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Fawn 1959 births Living people American women civil servants Annandale High School alumni Iran–Contra affair People from Annandale, Virginia Reagan administration personnel Secretaries