Decades After the Iran-Contra Affair Cost Oliver North His Military Career, He Married a Witness

People of a certain age will have a pretty clear memory of Oliver North testifying before Congress for what would later become known as the Iran-Contra Affair. The Marine Corps lieutenant was part of former President Ronald Reagan's National Security Council (NSC) staff, where he oversaw several important missions.

In 1985, the head of the NSC sold antitank and antiaircraft missiles to Iran in the hopes of facilitating the release of American hostages that were held in Lebanon. This violated a public policy about bargaining with terrorists or helping Iran in its war against Iraq. A portion of that money was diverted by North and given to the contras, whom he considered freedom fighters against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. These illegal activities came to light in November 1986. Where is Oliver North today?

North was later convicted of aiding and abetting in the obstruction of Congress, accepting an illegal gratuity, and altering and destroying documents. His conviction was overturned on appeal. He went on to an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate as the Republican candidate in Virginia. After that, North shifted to the private sector and a nonprofit organization called Freedom Alliance, which focuses on providing support for wounded soldiers and their families.

From 2001 to 2016, North hosted War Stories With Oliver North on Fox News. Two years after the show ended, the National Rifle Association (NRA) announced North would become the organization's next president. He served one term and stepped down in 2019. While all this was going on, North was busy writing both nonfiction and fiction books, authoring a total of 19. In 2024, North's wife Betsy died of corticobasal syndrome. The two had been married for 57 years.

At Betsy's funeral, North reconnected with his former assistant, Fawn Hall. This was first reported by journalist Michael Isikoff in his SpyTalk Substack. Back when Hall was working for North, she helped sneak documents out of the Executive Office Building (now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) by hiding them in her boots and in the back of her skirt.

North, 81, and Hall, 61, wed in a private ceremony in Virginia, on Aug. 27, 2025. "It was a secret marriage," said one friend of the couple to Isikoff. Evidently, none of North's four children attended the wedding. Another friend told Isikoff that Hall and North "rekindled their friendship" at Betsy's funeral, after which they began spending time together.