Iran Contra Affair
In trial on 25 November 1986, U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese admitted that profits from weapons sales to Iran were made available to assist the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. On the same day, Vice Admiral John Poindexter resigned from his post as National Security Advisor, and President Reagan fired Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North from the National Security Council.
North would later serve as president of the NRA from September 2018 to April 29, 2019, revealing mismanagement and financial improprieties leading to a civil lawsuit against CEO Wayne LaPierre, as well as treasurer Wilson Phillips, and former chief of staff and current executive director of general operations Joshua Powell. This trial is still ongoing as of this publication.
Vice Admiral Poindexter would go on to lead the Total Information Awareness program for DARPA’s Information Awareness Office after the September 11th terror attacks on the World Trade Center.
Despite being shut down and having funding withdrawn, Total Information Awareness's core projects are currently operated by Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA) located among the 60 some odd buildings that make up"Crypto City" at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, MD. Information on many of these programs was included in Edward Snowden’s revelations of domestic spying.
In 2020, Poindexter endorsed the election theft conspiracy promulgated by former President Donald Trump.