A deadlocked jury in the Iran-contra cover-up trial of Clair George on Tuesday sent its third note in two days to the judge stating it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any of the nine charges against the former CIA spymaster.
George`s lawyer, Richard Hibey, asked for a mistrial. But U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth denied the motion.
Instead, Lamberth read an instruction, known as a ”dynamite” charge because it strongly urges juries to reach a verdict, asking the eight women and four men to begin a sixth day of deliberations Wednesday morning.
”You should consider that it is desirable that the case be decided. . . .,” Lamberth told the disgruntled-looking jurors. ”There is no reason to suppose that the case will ever be submitted to 12 persons more intelligent, more impartial, or more competent to decide it, or that more or clearer evidence will be produced on one side or the other.”
A day earlier, Lamberth read a milder version of the instruction, asking jurors to re-examine their own views and continue deliberations. But at about 4 p.m. Tuesday, the judge received a note from jury foreman Steven Kirk stating that a consensus still hadn`t been reached.
”Each juror has freely expressed their views and each has attempted to persuade the majority and minority to their point of view . . . . I believe that no additional amount of time will persuade remaining jurors to a unanimous verdict,” wrote Kirk, who sighed heavily as the judge dismissed the panel for the evening.
Lamberth told the jurors that if he receives a similar note from them again, ”That`ll be the end of the matter,” and he will declare a mistrial. The prosecution then would have to decide whether to retry George.
At the request of the jury, which has been sequestered since Thursday, Lamberth granted it a ”fresh-air” excursion Tuesday night.
George is the former head of overseas covert operations for the Central Intelligance Agency. He is charged with obstructing investigations by Congress and a grand jury. He also is charged with perjury and making false statements about his knowledge of the Iran-contra scandal, which involved the shipment of arms to Iran in return for the release of American hostages held in Lebanon, and the diversion of profits from those arms sales to the Nicaraguan rebels, or contras.
Each of the nine counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
