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Selling weapons to Iran was bad enough. Using the profits to arm the Nicaraguan contras was an outrage to many members of Congress, which had banned such aid. That transgression became the focal point of the summer-long investigation by a joint congressional committee. Once again, Reagan's statements were contradictory. On several occasions, he denied knowing how the contras obtained their illegal aid. Then he startled listeners by saying of private Nicaraguan funding "I've known what's going on there. As a matter of fact, for quite a long time now, a matter of years . . . It was my idea." The committee was unable to link Reagan to the illegal aid, but the panel's conclusions were damning: "The common ingredients of the Iran and contra policies were secrecy, deception and disdain for law. A small group of senior officials . . . destroyed official documents and lied to Cabinet officials, to the public and to elected representatives in Congress." At year's end, Reagan reverted to his policy of denying what he had previously admitted. "Never at any time," he said, "did we view this as trading weapons for hostages."
The Faithful Hussar
Among the other runners-up for Man of the Year would have to be the figure at the center of the Iran-contra scandal, though there was some uncertainty about who that might be. Rear Admiral John Poindexter, who had been forced to resign as the President's National Security Adviser, testified that he was in ^ charge of the operation and that he had decided, for Reagan's protection, not to tell the President all the details. But there were many in Congress who doubted that the cautious and rules-bound admiral would undertake such a risky venture on his own. Some thought the key man must have been CIA Director William Casey, but Casey developed brain cancer and died before he could be questioned.
The nearest thing to a central figure, then, was Marine Lieut. Colonel Oliver North, who had organized both arms operations and thought that combining them was a "neat idea." North was a can-do, much decorated veteran of Viet Nam. Though Reagan had fired him from the National Security Council, he had also called him a "national hero." North became an overnight television star when he appeared in his uniform and medals and began his often emotional testimony by saying "I came here to tell you the truth -- the good, the bad and the ugly." North admitted he had engaged in international fund raising for the contras, a campaign that included his staging slide shows for would-be donors. Other officials cadged money from foreign millionaires like the Sultan of Brunei (with characteristic adroitness, the fund raisers temporarily lost the Sultan's $10 million donation, which turned up in the wrong Swiss bank account).