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Was Reagan's famous management style so lax that his newly appointed National Security Adviser could feel free to run a highly sensitive covert operation without ever informing the President or any of his other top advisers? White House aides rejected the idea. The President, they said, was angry when he learned that Poindexter had authorized the diversion. Asserted Chief of Staff Howard Baker: "The President has said, 'I did not know it, and had I known about it, I would have stopped it.' That's the totality of it." Confronted with the White House statement, Poindexter calmly stuck to his story that Reagan would have approved his decision. "People can draw their own conclusions, I guess," he said.
To some members of the Iranscam committees, Poindexter's testimony simply did not wash. "I just don't believe what he says," remarked Democratic Congressman Louis Stokes of Ohio. "It does not appear logical that a man of his intellect and management skills would arrogate unto himself the responsibility of making a monumental decision affecting the President."
In fact, the self-portrait drawn by the admiral last week did not appear logical in several respects: the naval officer known for his lack of political savvy making a crucial political judgment call; the strict by-the-book staff man reborn as a renegade who followed his own lights in deciding what Reagan should and should not know. "It doesn't make any sense," said a committee staffer. "This man wants you to believe that he risked the entire presidency on a set of decisions he thought were either too controversial or too unimportant to belabor the President with." Senate Panel Chairman Daniel Inouye called Poindexter's testimony "incredible, mind boggling, chilling."
The performance fueled rather than stilled speculation in Washington that Poindexter was the Administration's designated scapegoat for the scandal. In earlier testimony North, who was Poindexter's hyperactive aide at the NSC, claimed he and Director of Central Intelligence William Casey had often ! discussed the intricacies of the Iran-contra operation. According to North, Casey said the Marine might have to play the "fall guy," taking blame for the entire operation if it was ever exposed. On further consideration, Casey speculated that North might not be "senior enough" to make a credible scapegoat; the CIA director suggested Poindexter would have to share the role.
Poindexter testified that he had never heard of any scapegoat plan. But some thought the admiral was indeed falling on his sword for the sake of Ronald Reagan. "This man will never say anything that reflects adversely on his Commander in Chief," said Senate Counsel Arthur Liman. "How do we know he's not still protecting the President?"