Editing Iran–Contra affair (section)

==Aftermath==
Reagan expressed regret with regard to the situation in a nationally televised address from the [[Oval Office]] on 4 March 1987, and in two other speeches.<ref name="speeches">{{Cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/multimedia.php|title=Understanding the Iran-Contra Affairs|website=www.brown.edu|access-date=5 July 2020|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802012449/https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/multimedia.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Reagan had not spoken to the American people directly for three months amidst the scandal,<ref name="pbs-speech">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/filmmore/reference/primary/irancontra.html|title=Speech about Iran Contra|date=4 March 1987|access-date=23 April 2008|publisher=PBS|archive-date=2 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302164911/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/filmmore/reference/primary/irancontra.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and he offered the following explanation for his silence:

<blockquote>The reason I haven't spoken to you before now is this: You deserve the truth. And as frustrating as the waiting has been, I felt it was improper to come to you with sketchy reports, or possibly even erroneous statements, which would then have to be corrected, creating even more doubt and confusion. There's been enough of that.<ref name="pbs-speech"/></blockquote>

Reagan then took full responsibility for the acts committed:
<blockquote>First, let me say I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my administration. As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities. As disappointed as I may be in some who served me, I'm still the one who must answer to the American people for this behavior.<ref name="pbs-speech"/></blockquote>

Finally, the president acknowledged that his previous assertions that the U.S. did not trade arms for hostages were incorrect:
<blockquote>A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not. As the Tower board reported, what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages. This runs counter to my own beliefs, to administration policy, and to the original strategy we had in mind.<ref name="pbs-speech"/></blockquote>

Reagan's role in these transactions is still not definitively known. It is unclear exactly what Reagan knew and when, and whether the arms sales were motivated by his desire to save the U.S. hostages. [[Oliver North]] wrote that "Ronald Reagan knew of and approved a great deal of what went on with both the Iranian initiative and private efforts on behalf of the contras and he received regular, detailed briefings on both...I have no doubt that he was told about the use of residuals for the Contras, and that he approved it. Enthusiastically."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/us/north-says-reagan-knew-of-iran-deal.html |title=North Says Reagan Knew of Iran Deal |first=David |last=Johnston |date=20 October 1991 |work=The New York Times |access-date=9 February 2017 |archive-date=14 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214025658/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/us/north-says-reagan-knew-of-iran-deal.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Handwritten notes by Defense Secretary Weinberger indicate that the President was aware of potential hostage transfers{{clarify|date=December 2017}} with Iran, as well as the sale of Hawk and TOW missiles to what he was told were "moderate elements" within Iran.<ref name="gwu.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/14-Weinberger%20Diaries%20Dec%207%20handwritten.pdf|title=Weinberger Diaries Dec 7 handwritten|website=National Security Archive|publisher=George Washington University|access-date=15 April 2010|archive-date=3 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603175024/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/14-Weinberger%20Diaries%20Dec%207%20handwritten.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Notes taken by Weinberger on 7 December 1985 record that Reagan said that "he could {{not a typo|answer charges}} of illegality but he couldn't {{not a typo|answer charge}} that 'big strong President Reagan passed up a chance to {{not a typo|free hostages}}{{' "}}.<ref name="gwu.edu"/> The Republican-written "Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair" made the following conclusion: <blockquote>There is some question and dispute about precisely the level at which he chose to follow the operation details. There is no doubt, however, ... [that] the President set the US policy towards Nicaragua, with few if any ambiguities, and then left subordinates more or less free to implement it.<ref>Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, with supplemental minority and additional views, H. Doc 100–433, S. Doc 100–216, 00th Congress, 1st sess., 13 November 1987, 501</ref></blockquote>Domestically, the affair precipitated a drop in President Reagan's popularity. His approval ratings suffered "the largest single drop for any U.S. president in history", from 67% to 46% in November 1986, according to a ''[[New York Times]]''/[[CBS News]] poll.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mayer |first1=Jane |first2=Doyle |last2=McManus |title=Landslide: The Unmaking of The President, 1984–1988 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |date=1988 |pages=292, 437}}</ref> The "Teflon President", as Reagan was nicknamed by critics,<ref>{{cite news |last=Kurtz |first=Howard |date=7 June 2004 |title=15 Years Later, the Remaking of a President |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/06/07/15-years-later-the-remaking-of-a-president/bc74af08-c5cf-469c-bc51-84e2c2fb885c/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=C01 |access-date=30 December 2018 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327131223/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/06/07/15-years-later-the-remaking-of-a-president/bc74af08-c5cf-469c-bc51-84e2c2fb885c/ |url-status=live }}</ref> survived the affair, however, and his approval rating recovered.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/857a3Reagan.pdf |title=Reagan Approval: Better in Retrospect |last=Sussman |first=Dalia |date=6 August 2001 |work=ABC News |access-date=30 December 2018 |archive-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912072026/https://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/857a3Reagan.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Internationally, the damage was more severe. [[Magnus Ranstorp]] wrote, "U.S. willingness to engage in concessions with Iran and the Hezbollah not only signaled to its adversaries that hostage-taking was an extremely useful instrument in extracting political and financial concessions for the West but also undermined any credibility of U.S. criticism of other states' deviation from the principles of no-negotiation and no concession to terrorists and their demands."{{sfn|Ranstorp|1997|p=203}}

In Iran, [[Mehdi Hashemi]], the leaker of the scandal, was executed in 1987, allegedly for activities unrelated to the scandal. Though Hashemi made a full video confession to numerous serious charges, some observers find the coincidence of his leak and the subsequent prosecution highly suspicious.<ref>{{cite book |last=Abrahamian |first=Ervand |title=Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |date=1999 |pages=162–166}}</ref>

In 1994, just five years after leaving office, President Reagan announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.<ref>{{Cite press release |last=Reagan |first=Ronald |title=Alzheimer's Letter |date=November 5, 1994 |via=WGBH Educational Foundation |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-alzheimers/ |access-date=2021-03-03 |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419043648/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-alzheimers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Lawrence Walsh, who was appointed Independent Counsel in 1986 to investigate the transactions later implied Reagan's declining health may have played a role in his handling of the situation. However, Walsh did note that he believed President Reagan's "instincts for the country's good were right".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iran-Contra Affair|url=https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/iran-contra-affair|access-date=2021-03-03|website=HISTORY|date=17 January 2020|language=en|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308140648/https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/iran-contra-affair|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Indictments===
[[File:Oliver North mug shot.jpg|thumb|[[Oliver North|North]]'s mugshot,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Iran-Contra Affair • Levin Center |url=https://levin-center.org/what-is-oversight/portraits/the-iran-contra-affair/ |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Levin Center |language=en-US}}</ref> after his arrest]]
* [[Caspar Weinberger]], [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], was indicted on two counts of [[perjury]] and one count of [[obstruction of justice]] on 16 June 1992.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/1992/920606-231623.htm |title=Weinberger charged in Iran-Contra matter |publisher=[[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] |date=16 June 1992 |access-date=20 August 2024 |via=GlobalSecurity.org}}</ref> However, he was pardoned by [[George H. W. Bush]] on 24 December 1992, before he could be tried.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-george-h-w-bush-1989-1993#december1992|title=Pardons and Commutations Granted by President George H. W. Bush|date=12 January 2015 |access-date=20 August 2024|publisher=United States Department of Justice}}</ref>
* [[Robert C. McFarlane]], National Security Adviser, convicted of withholding evidence, but after a plea bargain was given only two years of probation. Later pardoned by President [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Pichirallo |first=Joe |date=12 March 1988 |title=McFarlane Enters Guilty Plea Arising From Iran-Contra Affair; Former Reagan Adviser Withheld Information From Congress |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>
* [[Elliott Abrams]], Assistant [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], convicted of withholding evidence, but after a plea bargain was given only two years probation. Later pardoned by President [[George H. W. Bush]].{{sfn|Walsh|1993|p=xxiii}}
* [[Alan D. Fiers]], Chief of the CIA's Central American Task Force, convicted of withholding evidence and sentenced to one year probation. Later pardoned by President [[George H. W. Bush]].
* [[Clair George]], Chief of Covert Ops-CIA, convicted on two charges of perjury, but pardoned by President [[George H. W. Bush]] before sentencing.{{sfn|Walsh|1993|loc=chpt. 17}}
* [[Oliver North]], member of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] was indicted on 16 charges.<ref name=indictment>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/17/world/north-poindexter-and-2-others-indicted-on-iran-contra-fraud-and-theft-charges.html |title=North, Poindexter and 2 Others Indicted on Iran-Contra Fraud and Theft Charges |last=Shenon |first=Philip |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 December 2018 |date=17 March 1988 |at=sec. A. p. 1 |edition=National |archive-date=30 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030064011/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/17/world/north-poindexter-and-2-others-indicted-on-iran-contra-fraud-and-theft-charges.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A jury convicted him of accepting an illegal gratuity, obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and destruction of documents. The convictions were overturned on appeal because his [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifth Amendment]] rights may have been violated by use of his immunized public testimony<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/21/us/civil-liberties-union-asks-court-to-quash-iran-contra-indictment.html |date=21 July 1988 |title=Civil Liberties Union Asks Court To Quash Iran-Contra Indictment |first=Philip |last=Shanon |work=The New York Times |edition=National |at=sec. A. p. 14 |access-date=29 December 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130122642/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/21/us/civil-liberties-union-asks-court-to-quash-iran-contra-indictment.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and because the judge had incorrectly explained the crime of destruction of documents to the jury.<ref name="dc-north">{{cite court|litigants=U.S. v. North|vol=910|reporter=F.2d|opinion=843|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/910/843/463467/|court=D.C. Cir.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802044803/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/910/843/463467/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Fawn Hall]], Oliver North's secretary, was given immunity from prosecution on charges of conspiracy and destroying documents in exchange for her testimony.<ref>Hall, North Trial Testimony, 3/22/89, pp. 5311–5316, and 3/23/89, pp. 5373–5380, 5385–5387; Chapter 5 Fawn Hall 147</ref>
* Jonathan Scott Royster, Liaison to Oliver North, was given immunity from prosecution on charges of conspiracy and destroying documents in exchange for his testimony.<ref>royster, North Trial Testimony, 3/22/89, pp. 5311–5317, and 3/23/89 pp. 5373–5380, 5386–5386; Chapter 6 Scott Royster 148</ref>
* National Security Advisor [[John Poindexter]] was convicted of five counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, [[perjury]], defrauding the government, and the alteration and destruction of evidence. A panel of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Circuit]] overturned the convictions on 15 November 1991 for the same reason the court had overturned Oliver North's, and by the same 2 to 1 vote.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/951/369/257995/|title=United States of America v. John M. Poindexter, Appellant, 951 F.2d 369 (D.C. Cir. 1992)|website=Justia Law|accessdate=25 June 2023|archive-date=25 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625154611/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/951/369/257995/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] refused to hear the case.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran-Contra Appeal Refused by Court |first=Linda |last=Greenhouse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/08/us/supreme-court-roundup-iran-contra-appeal-refused-by-court.html |newspaper=The New York Times |edition=National |at=sec. A. p. 22 |date=8 December 1992 |access-date=29 December 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210734/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/08/us/supreme-court-roundup-iran-contra-appeal-refused-by-court.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Duane Clarridge]]. An ex-CIA senior official, he was indicted in November 1991 on seven counts of perjury and false statements relating to a November 1985 shipment to Iran. Pardoned before trial by President [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-C.I.A. Official Charged on Iran Arms |first=David |last=Johnston |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/27/us/ex-cia-official-charged-on-iran-arms.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=27 November 1991 |at=sec. A. p. 12 |edition=National |access-date=29 December 2018 |archive-date=9 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109173818/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/27/us/ex-cia-official-charged-on-iran-arms.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Iran-Contra Pardons |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JbYzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4087,3010575&dq=duane+clarridge&hl=en |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |location=Bangor, Maine |date=24 December 1992 |page=2 |access-date=14 January 2011 |archive-date=11 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811135837/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JbYzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4087,3010575&dq=duane+clarridge&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Richard V. Secord]].  Former Air Force major general, who was involved in arms transfers to Iran and diversion of funds to Contras, he pleaded guilty in November 1989 to making false statements to Congress and was sentenced to two years of probation. As part of his plea bargain, Secord agreed to provide further truthful testimony in exchange for the dismissal of remaining criminal charges against him.<ref name="The Iran-Contra Defendants">{{cite news |title=The Iran-Contra Defendants |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4aIaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6774,768311&dq=albert+hakim+sentenced&hl=en |agency=Journal wire services |newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal |location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin |date=17 September 1991 |page=A6 |access-date=14 January 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Johnston" />
* [[Albert Hakim]]. A businessman, he pleaded guilty in November 1989 to supplementing the salary of North by buying a $13,800 fence for North with money from "the Enterprise," which was a set of foreign companies Hakim used in Iran–Contra. In addition, Swiss company Lake Resources Inc., used for storing money from arms sales to Iran to give to the Contras, plead guilty to stealing government property.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hakim, one company plead guilty to Iran-Contra counts |author=Pete Yost |url=https://news.google.com/newspapersid=Sx4jAAAAIBAJ&pg=1225,370748&dq=albert+hakim+pleaded+guilty&hl=en |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Modesto Bee |location=Modesto, CA |date=22 November 1989 |page=A-4 |access-date=14 January 2011}} {{Dead link|date=April 2012|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Hakim was given two years of probation and a $5,000 fine, while Lake Resources Inc. was ordered to dissolve.<ref name="The Iran-Contra Defendants"/><ref name=nytimesobit>{{cite news |title=Albert Hakim, Figure in Iran-Contra Affair, Dies at 66 |work=The New York Times |date=1 May 2003 |at=sec. B. p. 8 |edition=National |access-date=28 December 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/us/albert-hakim-figure-in-iran-contra-affair-dies-at-66.html |first=Douglas |last=Martin |archive-date=22 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222002126/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/us/albert-hakim-figure-in-iran-contra-affair-dies-at-66.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Thomas G. Clines]]. A former CIA clandestine service officer. According to Special Prosecutor Walsh, he earned nearly $883,000 helping retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord and Albert Hakim carry out the secret operations of "the Enterprise". He was indicted for concealing the full amount of his Enterprise profits for the 1985 and 1986 tax years, and for failing to declare his foreign financial accounts. He was convicted and served 16 months in prison, the only Iran–Contra defendant to have served a prison sentence.{{sfn|Walsh|1993|loc=chpt. 11}}

The [[Independent Counsel]], [[Lawrence Edward Walsh|Lawrence E. Walsh]], chose not to re-try North or Poindexter.<ref name="Johnston 1992">{{cite news |date=25 December 1992 |access-date=29 December 2018 |title=Bush Pardons 6 in Iran Affair, Averting a Weinberger Trial; Prosecutor Assails 'Cover-Up' |work=The New York Times |edition=National |at=sec. A. p. 1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/25/us/pardons-bush-pardons-6-iran-affair-aborting-weinberger-trial-prosecutor-assails.html |last=Johnston |first=David |archive-date=11 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411071350/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/25/us/pardons-bush-pardons-6-iran-affair-aborting-weinberger-trial-prosecutor-assails.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In total, several dozen people were investigated by Walsh's office.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/prosecutions.php |title=The Legal Aftermath: Prosecutions |website=Understanding the Iran-Contra Affairs |publisher=Brown University |access-date=18 January 2018 |archive-date=9 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209115556/http://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/prosecutions.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

===George H. W. Bush's involvement===
On 27 July 1986, Israeli counterterrorism expert [[Amiram Nir]] briefed Vice President Bush in Jerusalem about the weapon sales to Iran.<ref name="apnews.com; 2 December 1988">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Iran-Contra Figure Killed in Plane Crash |url=https://apnews.com/article/232b2fe85361772091c0e48651f1b509 |work=apnews.com |date=2 December 1988 |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412120333/https://apnews.com/article/232b2fe85361772091c0e48651f1b509 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In an interview with ''The Washington Post'' in August 1987, Bush stated that he was denied information about the operation and did not know about the diversion of funds.<ref name="The Washington Post; 6 August 1987">{{cite news |last=Broder |first=David S. |author-link=David S. Broder |date=6 August 1987 |title=Bush Asserts Vindication in Iran Affair |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/08/06/bush-asserts-vindication-in-iran-affair/edd22f72-7177-4c22-a25a-dbba3b1524ad/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=31 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131213520/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/08/06/bush-asserts-vindication-in-iran-affair/edd22f72-7177-4c22-a25a-dbba3b1524ad/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush said that he had not advised Reagan to reject the initiative because he had not heard strong objections to it.<ref name="The Washington Post; 6 August 1987"/> The ''Post'' quoted him as stating, "We were not in the loop."<ref name="The Washington Post; 6 August 1987"/> The following month, Bush recounted meeting Nir in his September 1987 autobiography ''Looking Forward'', stating that he began to develop misgivings about the Iran initiative.<ref name="Los Angeles Times; 6 September 1987">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bush Barred From Iran Talks, He Writes |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-06-mn-6282-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=6 September 1987 |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421063300/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-06-mn-6282-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He wrote that he did not learn the full extent of the Iran dealings until he was briefed by Senator [[David Durenberger]] regarding a Senate inquiry into them.<ref name="Los Angeles Times; 6 September 1987"/> Bush added the briefing with Durenberger left him with the feeling he had "been deliberately excluded from key meetings involving details of the Iran operation".<ref name="Los Angeles Times; 6 September 1987"/>

In January 1988 during a live interview with Bush on ''[[CBS Evening News]]'', [[Dan Rather]] told Bush that his unwillingness to speak about the scandal led "people to say 'either George Bush was irrelevant or he was ineffective, he set himself outside of the loop.{{' "}}<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018">{{cite news |last=Welna |first=David |date=6 December 2018 |title=George H.W. Bush's Mixed Legacy in a Reagan-Era Scandal |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/06/674079779/george-h-w-bushs-mixed-legacy-in-a-reagan-era-scandal |work=NPR |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531031324/https://www.npr.org/2018/12/06/674079779/george-h-w-bushs-mixed-legacy-in-a-reagan-era-scandal |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush replied, "May I explain what I mean by 'out of the loop'? No operational role."<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018"/><ref>{{cite interview |last=Bush |first=George |subject-link=George H. W. Bush |title=Text of Dan Rather's Interview With George Bush |interviewer=[[Dan Rather]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/01/27/text-of-dan-rathers-interview-with-george-bush/7ae836b4-c06a-45b1-8138-24efbd59a944/ |work=CBS Evening News |date=25 January 1988 |access-date=14 November 2020 |via=The Washington Post |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116090018/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/01/27/text-of-dan-rathers-interview-with-george-bush/7ae836b4-c06a-45b1-8138-24efbd59a944/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although Bush publicly insisted that he knew little about the operation, his statements were contradicted by excerpts of his diary released by the White House in January 1993.<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018"/><ref name="The New York Times; 16 January 1993">{{cite news |date=16 January 1993 |title=Excerpts From the Portions of Bush's Diaries Released by the White House |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/16/us/excerpts-from-the-portions-of-bush-s-diaries-released-by-the-white-house.html |work=The New York Times |at=sec. 1. p. 8 |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=15 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115010519/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/16/us/excerpts-from-the-portions-of-bush-s-diaries-released-by-the-white-house.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An entry dated 5 November 1986 stated: "On the news at this time is the question of the hostages... I'm one of the few people that know fully the details, and there is a lot of flak and misinformation out there. It is not a subject we can talk about..."<ref name="NPR; 6 December 2018"/><ref name="The New York Times; 16 January 1993"/>

=== International Involvement ===  
Following the Iran-Contra Affair in 1987, covert military assistance from Taiwan to the Contras was exposed, with reports indicating that [[Ku Cheng-kang]], the co-founder and chairman of [[World League for Freedom and Democracy]] played a key role in facilitating the aid. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed these activities.<ref>  
{{cite book  
 | last =  
 | first =  
 | title = 國民黨領導階層分析  
 | publisher = 風雲出版社  
 | date = 1987  
 | pages = 114–119  
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Rl4yAAAAMAAJ&q=%E8%B0%B7%E6%AD%A3%E7%B6%B1+%E4%BC%8A%E6%9C%97  
 | language = zh  
}}  
</ref><ref>  
{{cite book  
 | title = 臺灣文摘  
 | volume = 52–63  
 | date = 1987  
 | publisher = 臺灣文摘社  
 | language = zh-hant  
 | pages = 34–37  
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=L5A5AAAAIAAJ&q=%E8%B0%B7%E6%AD%A3%E7%B6%B1+%E4%BC%8A%E6%9C%97  
}}  
</ref>

===Pardons===
On 24 December 1992, after he had been defeated for [[1992 United States presidential election|reelection]] by [[Bill Clinton]], President George H. W. Bush pardoned five administration officials who had been found guilty on charges relating to the affair.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jack |last=Doppler |title=No Longer News: The Trial of the Century That Wasn't |journal=ABA Journal |volume=79 |issue=1 |date=January 1993 |pages=56–59}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Welna |first=David |date=2018-12-06 |title=George H.W. Bush's Mixed Legacy In A Reagan-Era Scandal |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/06/674079779/george-h-w-bushs-mixed-legacy-in-a-reagan-era-scandal |access-date=2025-05-02 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref> They were: 
# [[Elliott Abrams]]; 
# [[Duane Clarridge]];
# [[Alan Fiers]];
# [[Clair George]]; and
# [[Robert McFarlane (American politician)|Robert McFarlane]].

Bush also pardoned [[Caspar Weinberger]], who had not yet come to trial.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bush|first=George H.&nbsp;W.|title=Proclamation 6518 – Grant of Executive Clemency|publisher=The American Presidency Project|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=20265|date=24 December 1992|access-date=23 April 2008|archive-date=14 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514002544/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=20265|url-status=live}}</ref> Attorney General [[William P. Barr]] advised the President on these pardons, especially that of Caspar Weinberger.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/william-p-barr-oral-history-assistant-attorney-general|title=William P. Barr Oral History, Assistant Attorney General; Deputy Attorney General; Attorney General|date=2016-10-27|website=Miller Center|language=en|access-date=2019-03-26|archive-date=7 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207045728/https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-oral-histories/william-p-barr-oral-history-assistant-attorney-general|url-status=live}}</ref>

In response to these Bush pardons, [[United States Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel|Independent Counsel]] [[Lawrence E. Walsh]], who headed the investigation of Reagan administration officials' criminal conduct in the Iran–Contra scandal, stated that "the Iran-contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed." Walsh noted that in issuing the pardons Bush appears to have been preempting being implicated himself in the crimes of Iran–Contra by evidence that was to come to light during the Weinberger trial, and noted that there was a pattern of "deception and obstruction" by Bush, Weinberger and other senior Reagan administration officials.<ref name="Johnston 1992" /><ref name="ghwbush-pardons" /><ref name=Firewall/>

=== Modern interpretations ===
The Iran–Contra affair and the ensuing deception to protect senior administration officials (including President Reagan) was cast as an example of [[post-truth politics]] by Malcolm Byrne of George Washington University.<ref>[http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB567-Iran-Contra-Reagan-Oliver-North-and-Post-Truth-30-years-later/ The Iran-Contra Affair 30 Years Later: A Milestone in Post-Truth Politics: Declassified Records Recall Official Deception in the Name of Protecting a Presidency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223140903/https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/iran/2016-11-25/iran-contra-affair-30-years-later-milestone-post-truth-politics |date=23 December 2021 }} 25 November 2016; National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 567; Edited by Malcolm Byrne, Retrieved 26 November 2016.</ref>