# Danny Sheehan Daniel P. "Danny" Sheehan (b. 1945) is an American public-interest and constitutional trial lawyer, educated at Harvard, who spent about a decade as general counsel to the U.S. Jesuit headquarters. He is a foundational figure in the modern "Secret Team" version of [[The Octopus]] frame -- and the author of its canonical cautionary tale, the case where that thesis met an evidentiary standard and failed. ## Career Sheehan was co-counsel for the New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case (1971) and lead attorney in *Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee*. In 1980 he co-founded the [[Christic Institute]], a Jesuit-influenced public-interest law firm. Its signature action, the 1986 *Avirgan v. Hull* civil RICO suit, alleged a decades-long covert "Secret Team" behind [[Iran-Contra Affair]], naming figures including [[Oliver North]] and [[John Singlaub]]. A federal judge dismissed the suit in 1988 as "unsubstantiated rumor and speculation" and imposed roughly $1 million in sanctions, which bankrupted Christic; the IRS revoked its tax exemption in 1992. ## Later work Sheehan then founded the [[Romero Institute]] in Santa Cruz, served as chief counsel for the Lakota People's Law Project, and represented activists at [[Standing Rock]]. In recent years he has turned to UAP-disclosure advocacy through a new institute -- an extension of his lifelong "concealed networks of power" posture. ## Epistemic status Sheehan's role in the Pentagon Papers and Silkwood cases is documented. The "Secret Team" theory central to his Octopus relevance was dismissed in court and sanctioned as frivolous -- a fact every page in this cluster keeps in view. Even his co-plaintiff Tony Avirgan later criticized him for chasing "wild allegations." ## See also - [[The Octopus]] - [[Christic Institute]] - [[Romero Institute]] - [[Iran-Contra Affair]] - [[Standing Rock]]