Jacobsen Visits Iran Hearing With Dornan

Former hostage David P. Jacobsen, who was held captive in Lebanon for 17 months, was a surprise visitor Wednesday at the Iran- contra hearing.

Jacobsen, of Huntington Beach, was joined in the Senate Caucus Room by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove). He sat undetected in the second row of spectators until Rep. Richard Cheney (R-Wyo.), a member of the committee, announced his presence.

Jacobsen, who was later mobbed by reporters, said he had been invited by an unidentified member of the committee and was present only as a “good American citizen.”

After his release last Nov. 2, Jacobsen met with President Reagan in the White House and later admonished the national news media “to back off” and not speculate on what negotiations may have taken place to secure his release. At the time, he maintained that arms had not been sold to Iran in return for his freedom.

News of the exchange of U.S. arms for hostages came out soon after Jacobsen was released.

He said Wednesday that he has “mixed feelings” about the hearings, saying that those who hold Americans captives in the Middle East “are taking great delight in the turmoil we are experiencing.”

Alluding to the activities of Lt. Col. Oliver North and former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter on behalf of the American hostages, Jacobsen said, “Thank God we have some people who are willing to take risks.”

He also suggested that the State Department should defer to law enforcement agencies to “guide and direct” activities when Americans are taken hostage abroad because, he said, the State Department “is not set up to deal with a bunch of little punks.”