Grand Jury Hears Testimony of Nelson Hunt on Iran Affair

WASHINGTON —  Texas multimillionaire Nelson Bunker Hunt testified Friday before the special federal grand jury investigating the Iran- contra affair.

Hunt donated at least $237,500 to a foundation run by Carl R. (Spitz) Channell to help arm the Nicaraguan rebels, records given to investigators show.

He declined to discuss his testimony after appearing before the grand jury. Asked if he was a target of the investigation, Hunt replied: “I hope not.”

‘I’m for ‘Em’

He also declined to discuss his donations to the contra cause, saying only: “I’m for ‘em.”

Before Hunt’s appearance, his attorney, Mark Zimmerman of Dallas, declined to say whether Hunt would address testimony at the congressional hearings on the scandal last week that said the Texas multimillionaire may have contributed $1 million to the private contra supply effort.

Before Hunt’s appearance, Zimmerman went through a stack of documents, but it was not known if he gave any to the grand jury.

Zimmerman also would not say if Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, the fired National Security Council official, raised money for the contras at a fund-raising party at Hunt’s ranch during the 1984 GOP convention, or whether independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh had asked him to turn over personal records of possible donations.

Hunt is the oldest son of Texas millionaire H. L. Hunt and is the patriarch of what was--and may still be--America’s wealthiest family, heading with his younger brothers a vast financial empire that was threatened by their attempt to corner the silver market.

Channell and a public relations executive, Richard Miller, have pleaded guilty to charges that they conspired to illegally use the tax-exempt National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty to arm the contras.