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Many sections of the admiral's testimony were marred by evasive answers, confusion over details and awkward twists of logic. Among Poindexter's other significant revelations:
-- Unlike Robert McFarlane, his predecessor as National Security Adviser, Poindexter said he did not feel that the NSC staff was covered by the Boland amendment, which prohibited assistance to the Nicaraguan rebels by U.S. military or intelligence agencies. Although the NSC directed the contra- resupply network, Poindexter told Congress that his agency was adhering to the letter and spirit of the law. How so? "By keeping the other departments that were covered by the Boland amendment out of the issue."
-- After North successfully convinced members of the House Intelligence Committee that he was not involved in covert support for the contras in 1986, Poindexter sent his aide a computer message saying, "Well done." House Counsel John Nields asked Poindexter last week if he had authorized North to lie to Congress. The admiral replied that he did not instruct North to lie, only to "withhold information."
-- North testified that Director Casey had hoped to use some of the profits from the Iran arms sales to set up a secret account to finance covert operations without congressional oversight. Poindexter said he had never heard such a plan discussed "in that depth." He added, "It's an idea that has some attractive features in my mind."
The vigorous, outspoken North had provided a stark contrast to his seemingly unflappable NSC boss during his six days of sometimes impassioned testimony. By the time North left the witness chair last Tuesday, he had been transformed into an international celebrity. But in his final hours on the stand, the Marine who had offered the committee lengthy discourses on patriotism and geopolitics got a dose of his own medicine. Most of the 26 panel members lectured North on his flawed view of democracy and the significance of the scandal. Senator William Cohen, a Maine Republican, criticized the colonel and his associates for attempting to act on a contra policy that did not have the support of most Americans. "A democracy demands not only that the rights of the minority be respected," said Cohen, "but that the rules of the majority be respected. And that's true even if you and I believe the majority is wrong."
Indiana Democrat Lee Hamilton, chairman of the House panel and a widely respected student of foreign affairs, summed up the serious implications of the scandal with special eloquence. "I am impressed that policy was driven by a series of lies," said Hamilton in a soft, steady baritone. "Lies to the Iranians, lies to the CIA, lies to the Attorney General, lies to our friends and allies, lies to the Congress and lies to the American people." Hamilton reminded North of one of Thomas Jefferson's credos: "The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest."
Poindexter's testimony revealed even more layers of deceptions obscuring what really happened in the tortuous Iran-contra affair. After the admiral's dubious story, members of the investigation may suspect that they will never hear the full truth about the scandal.
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CREDIT: TIME Chart by Nigel Holmes
CAPTION: POINTING THE FINGER