By Chris Sommerfeldt

New York Daily News

Oliver North, the ex-Marine lieutenant colonel convicted and eventually exonerated in the Reagan-era Iran-Contra scandal, will become the next president of the National Rifle Association, the gun lobby’s top executive announced Monday.

“This is the most exciting news for our members since Charlton Heston became President of our Association,” NRA executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre said in a statement, referencing the late actor and conservative activist. “Oliver North is a legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader. In these times, I can think of no one better suited to serve as our president.”

North, 74, will immediately stop appearing on Fox News as a commentator, LaPierre added. He’s expected to officially come on board as the president of the country’s largest gun lobby in “a few weeks,” according to LaPierre.

NRA presidents typically act as senior spokespeople for the gun group, while LaPierre oversees most day-to-day operations and political lobbying efforts.

North’s nomination will likely draw rebuke, considering his involvement in the 1980s Iran-Contra affair in which senior Reagan administration officials covertly sold weapons to the arms-embargoed Iranian regime then used proceeds to fund the right-wing Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua.

The scandal left a dark stain on President Ronald Reagan’s administration, although congressional committees found no evidence to suggest that the president himself was aware of the shadowy deals.

North, on the other hand, was indicted on 16 felony counts in 1989 for helping to facilitate the shady weapons deals, and then lying about them to investigators. He was sentenced to a three-year suspended prison term.

But a federal judge threw out North’s conviction after his attorneys successfully argued that witnesses at his trial might have been affected by his confidential congressional testimony.

North maintained throughout his case that the Iran-Contra deal was a “neat idea,” even though it violated laws set forth by Congress. He characterized the Contras as freedom fighters, even though the right-wing militias committed numerous human rights violations and carried out terror attacks while waging war on the socialist Nicaraguan government.

North’s appointment comes at a tumultuous time for the NRA.

The gun lobby has reportedly drawn the attention of special counsel Robert Mueller, who’s investigating possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.

The NRA, which funneled millions of dollars into getting Trump elected, has ties to Russian individuals facing scrutiny from Mueller, including Alexander Torshin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin and the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank.

Torshin, who was a paying NRA member for years, was recently sanctioned by the U.S. government as part of its campaign to punish the Kremlin over its interference in the 2016 election.