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So far, the sentences for those convicted have been light. As Judge Gerhard Gesell explained in putting North on probation, "You were a low-ranking subordinate working to carry out initiatives of a few cynical superiors." North had only three major bosses. Robert McFarlane, who preceded Poindexter as National Security Adviser, pleaded guilty to mere misdemeanors and was placed on probation. Whether Poindexter will be treated more severely is up to Judge Greene. That leaves Reagan, whose accountability now rests with historians rather than the courts.
The public record on Iran-contra, from the Tower commission to the congressional hearings and the various cases brought by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh, is incontestable on the key points: Reagan approved the weapons sales to Iran in the hope they would lead to the release of American hostages; he ordered that the contras be financed from private and foreign sources, even though Congress had expressed its opposition by cutting off U.S. funding. And he wanted both dealings kept secret from the American public.
Whether Reagan knew that jacked-up weapons prices had created profits that went to the contras, and whether he would have disapproved if he did know, are only peripheral uncertainties. Iran-contra, which violated laws and contradicted Reagan's proclaimed policies, was undeniably the President's doing.