Iran Contra: Episode 6 - Fault Lines

Summary

Fiasco: Iran-Contra – Episode 6: Fault Lines

Overview

In Episode 6 of Fiasco, titled "Fault Lines," host Leon Nayfak delves deep into the intricate web of the Iran-Contra scandal, unraveling the political, personal, and procedural ramifications that threatened to destabilize Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Through firsthand accounts, expert testimonies, and detailed analysis, the episode captures the essence of a pivotal moment in American history, highlighting the scandal's impact on key figures and the nation's political landscape.

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1. The Fallout Begins: Personal Consequences

The episode opens with the harrowing account of Robert “Bud” McFarlane, a central figure in the Iran-Contra affair. Following the scandal's exposure, McFarlane grapples with intense personal turmoil.

• Depression and Desperation

  McFarlane reflects on his mental state, stating, “if you can't turn things around, maybe you can atone and I won't develop for you the nature of depression and how it can worsen and lead to a cycle of decline. And yet that was what was happening” [00:44].

• Attempted Suicide

  On February 8, 1987, overwhelmed by guilt and despair, McFarlane attempted suicide by overdosing on Valium. “Around midnight on February 8, 1987, Bud McFarlane swallowed roughly 30 Valium tablets” [06:07].

• Search for Redemption

  Determined to salvage Reagan's administration, McFarlane authored a memo outlining policy goals he believed could refocus the administration’s efforts. “I wrote down what ought to be done in four areas where we would be taking an initiative of importance to our country” [04:35].

2. Legislative and Investigative Actions

As the scandal intensified, both Congress and the Independent Counsel stepped in to investigate the Iran-Contra operations.

• Congressional Inquiries

  Both the House and Senate formed committees dedicated to examining the affair. The Senate approved a bipartisan committee overwhelmingly, “adopted by a margin of 416 to 2” [06:55].

• Independent Counsel’s Role

  Lawrence Walsh spearheaded a criminal investigation to identify illegal activities tied to Iran-Contra. “Unlike Congress, the Independent Counsel was pursuing a criminal probe intended to identify any illegal acts that may have been committed” [07:16].

• Tower Commission Formation

  Appointed by President Reagan, the Tower Commission comprised former Senator John Tower, Brent Scowcroft, and Edmund Muskie, aiming to identify failures within the National Security Council. “Their job was to find out what had gone wrong in the White House and then share their findings with the public” [07:45].

3. The Rise and Unfolding of the Tower Commission Report

Bud McFarlane’s hospitalization led to significant developments in the investigation.

• McFarlane’s Testimony

  During his hospital stay, McFarlane was interviewed by the Tower Commission regarding the pre-approval of arms sales. “When he was finished, McFarlane says that he submitted the memo to the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State” [04:35].

• Report Findings

  The Tower Commission’s extensive 300-page report criticized President Reagan’s management and oversight. “Tower said it was his job to watch what they were doing and rein them in” [13:11].

• Reagan’s Response

  In a pivotal speech, Reagan acknowledged inaccuracies in his initial statements and accepted responsibility for the administration's failings. “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” [14:37].

4. Congressional Hearings: The Media Spectacle

The hearings became a national obsession, particularly with the emergence of Oliver North as a central figure.

• Oliver North’s Testimony

  North's appearance captivated the nation, transforming him into an instant celebrity. “Oliver north has become the hottest ticket in town” [08:42]. His demeanor and military background garnered significant public support, leading to what the media dubbed “Ollie Mania.”

  Notable moments include North's defiance and his portrayal as a dedicated patriot:

  • “I was simply a staff member with a demonstrated ability to get the job done. I reported directly to Mr. McFarland and to Admiral Poindexter.” [39:42].

• Fawn Hall’s Shredding Party

  Fawn Hall testified about her role in destroying documents, introducing the term “shredding party” into the national lexicon. “Fawn hall told how she altered and shredded key documents as secretary to Lt. Col. Oliver north at the White House” [26:39].

• John Poindexter’s Testimony

  Poindexter asserted that he did not inform Reagan about the diversion of funds, invoking Harry Truman’s principle of accountability: “The buck stops here with me” [45:06].

5. Public Perception and Media Frenzy

The hearings not only fueled political debates but also reshaped public opinion and media narratives.

• Public Support for North

  Despite the investigations, Oliver North amassed substantial public support. Surveys indicated:

  • 44% view North as a patriot and hero [35:10].
  • 48% believe North is being harassed by congressional panels [35:10].

• Media’s Role

  The media propelled North into the spotlight, with extensive coverage and even merchandise celebrating him. Commentators noted the stark contrast between North’s charismatic public persona and the serious nature of the hearings.

• Impact on Committee Members

  The overwhelming public support for North influenced committee members to soften their questioning, deviating from their initial rigorous approach. “The deluge of calls and letters had an immediate effect on the committee members line of questioning” [38:07].

6. Conclusion: The Aftermath and Political Ramifications

As the hearings concluded, the investigation’s outcomes varied across different committees and political lines.

• Congressional Reports

  The joint House and Senate committees produced a 690-page majority report critical of the White House’s actions, highlighting “secrecy, deception, and a disdain for law” [48:44]. However, a minority of Republicans, including Dick Cheney, contested these findings, branding the investigation as a “witch hunt” [49:23].

• Impact on Key Figures

  Vice President George H.W. Bush emerged relatively unscathed, with the committees finding no substantial evidence linking him to the diversion of funds. As Bush announced his candidacy for president shortly after, the scandal's political fallout significantly influenced the upcoming elections. “By the time Congress wrapped up its work, there was one politician besides Ronald Reagan who remained unscathed” [50:14].

• Legacy of Iran-Contra

  The scandal left an indelible mark on American politics, illustrating the complexities of covert operations and executive authority. It underscored the fragile interplay between governmental branches and the profound impact of personal accountability in public office.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Robert McFarlane [04:15]:

  “Yet I still had this foolish, I think, belief that we shouldn't close down the government with a scandal and preoccupation with it when you had other things that still needed to be done.”

• John Tower [13:25]:

  “The President clearly didn't understand. And the President of the United States is described here generally as a man who just simply was not very much in control of the foreign policy apparatus of his administration.”

• John Neilds [16:36]:

  “I don't think it has an awful lot to do with answering the question of whether this was a shocking and really serious breakdown in the way our government functioned. That's what I thought this was about.”

• Oliver North [39:42]:

  “I was simply a staff member with a demonstrated ability to get the job done. I reported directly to Mr. McFarland and to Admiral Poindexter.”

• John Poindexter [45:06]:

  “I think it's an important point here, the buck stops here with me. I made the decision. I felt that I had the authority to do it.”

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Conclusion

Episode 6 of Fiasco meticulously dissects the Iran-Contra scandal, offering listeners an immersive exploration of its causes, key players, and enduring legacy. Through compelling narratives and insightful analysis, Leon Nayfak presents a comprehensive picture of a moment when political ambition collided with ethical boundaries, leading to one of the most controversial episodes in American presidential history.

Transcript

[Leon Nayfak]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.

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[Leon Nayfak]

Pushkin.

[Robert McFarlane]

From the day the story broke in Lebanon early November, all the possible outcomes and worsening scandal were immediately obvious. It seemed to me, and I reached the conclusion that at least if you can't turn things around, maybe you can atone and I won't develop for you the nature of depression and how it can worsen and lead to a cycle of decline. And yet that was what was happening.

[John Tower]

One of the most important figures in the Iran contra affair, Robert McFarlane, is in a hospital tonight. The former National Security Advisor apparently took an overdose of Valium as an attempted suicide. It was shortly after 7am when Mrs. McFarland tried to rouse her husband and couldn't.

[Leon Nayfak]

In the months after the Iran Contra scandal broke, Bud McFarlane had felt a duty to take responsibility for it. McFarland believed he was the only one in Reagan's inner circle who could have stopped the Arms for hostages initiative, and he had failed. Still, McFarlane had maintained hope that the administration could set the scandal aside and recommit itself to its foreign policy ambitions. If McFarlane could help his former colleagues in the White House make that happen, maybe he could set things right.

[Robert McFarlane]

Yet I still had this foolish, I think, belief that we shouldn't close down the government with a scandal and preoccupation with it when you had other things that still needed to be done.

[Leon Nayfak]

So McFarlane wrote down the policy goals he thought the administration could still pursue.

[Robert McFarlane]

The President had achieved quite a lot. That is, he had teed up opportunities that were enormous. And I wrote down what ought to be done in four areas where we would be taking an initiative of importance to our country.

[Leon Nayfak]

When he was finished, McFarlane says that he submitted the memo to the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State.

[Robert McFarlane]

But I didn't even get an answer. One of the three did. I've forgotten who it was, but I had no signal that any of it was being considered. And so to me, that was kind of a moment of truth that your best efforts have failed. You have exhausted all possible recourse for salvaging the considerable gains that could be made under President Reagan's leadership.

[Leon Nayfak]

When McFarlane saw that his memo was being ignored, he became convinced that the promise of the Reagan administration had been truly squandered and that it was partly his fault. Later, McFarlane explained his decision to try to take his own life by invoking the Japanese ritual of seppuku, a form of suicide practiced by disgraced samurai who wanted to restore honor to their families.

[Robert McFarlane]

It was foolish looking back, but it has a tradition in the Far east, and it's just more a comment on how deep the depression had become.

[Leon Nayfak]

Around midnight on February 8, 1987, Bud McFarlane swallowed roughly 30 Valium tablets. When his wife woke up the next morning, she saw that something was wrong and called an ambulance.

[John Tower]

Mrs. McFarland was clutching a note from her husband, which she refused to show to the medics. McFarlane has come under increasing strain as the Iran affair deepens.

[Leon Nayfak]

McFarlane, who was 49 years old, was taken to a nearby naval hospital to recover. News of McFarlane's suicide attempt came as multiple investigations into Iran Contra were lurching to life.

[John Tower]

The nation's 100th Congress convened today. Clearly preoccupied with the Iran Contra crisis.

[Leon Nayfak]

The House and the Senate had both formed committees to look into the matter, and they were preparing for public hearings.

[John Tower]

After a long debate, the Senate finally approved a resolution authorizing a bipartisan committee to investigate. Adopted overwhelmingly, bipartisanly, by a margin of 416 to 2. The house also established its select committee.

[Leon Nayfak]

While Congress set its inquiry in motion, prosecutors working in the Office of the Independent Counsel were undertaking a separate investigation.

[John Tower]

Lawrence Walsh, a former judge and former Deputy Attorney General, the man to search for any criminal wrongdoing.

[Leon Nayfak]

Unlike Congress, the Independent Counsel was pursuing a criminal probe intended to identify any illegal acts that may have been committed as part of Iran Contra.

[John Tower]

That we have a statutory basis to believe that a federal law may have been violated.

[Leon Nayfak]

And then there was the Tower Commission, a three person panel appointed by the President that included a former National Security advisor and two former senators.

[John Tower]

Former Texas Senator John Tower, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie are the other members.

[Leon Nayfak]

Their job was to find out what had gone wrong in the White House and then share their findings with the public. The Tower Commission was most focused on the National Security Council.

[John Tower]

The panel reportedly has expanded its investigation to include possible attempts to cover up this scandal.

[Leon Nayfak]

Looking back, it's no surprise McFarlane's foreign policy memo didn't get more attention. Reagan was under siege, and the notion that he could just set the scandal aside and get back to business was wishful thinking. As Congress prepared to hold hearings, the American public wanted answers. What had the President known about Iran Contra? When did he know it? And had he lied to cover it up? Leon I'm Leon Naifak from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco. Iran Contra.

[John Tower]

The full story of the Iran Contra affair begins to unfold for all of us to see. Colonel north, please rise. Oliver north has become the hottest ticket in town. The man's become an instant celebrity. I misled the Congress. Secrecy, deception and disdain for the law.

[Pam Naughton]

We were shocked. To this day, I'm shocked.

[John Tower]

Millions of Americans have a nagging suspicion that the truth has not yet come out.

[Leon Nayfak]

Episode 6 Fault Lines Iran Contra goes on trial as each of its principal architects takes a turn fielding the blame. We'll be right back.

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[Leon Nayfak]

Bud McFarlane ended up spending about two weeks in the hospital. During his recovery, he received several notable visits. One was from former President Richard Nixon, who gave McFarlane advice on overcoming adversity and living with one's mistakes. McFarlane was also visited by the three members of the Tower Commission, who interviewed him in his hospital room for more than six hours. They were particularly interested in whether Reagan had pre approved the very first arms sales to Iran. McFarlane told them he had. Just a few days later, the Tower Commission released its report on Iran Contra. It was more than 300 pages long, and its conclusions were not flattering to the President.

[John Tower]

The Special Review Board has completed its work, but it might be helpful to give you the highlights of this rather lengthy report to the President.

[Leon Nayfak]

At a press conference, the Commission's chairman and namesake, John Tower, detailed the President's failings as a manager. Though most of the bad ideas had come from Reagan's subordinates, Tower said it was his job to watch what they were doing and rein them in.

[John Tower]

Now, you can say that perhaps this President holds himself a little bit too aloof from the implementation of policy, but one thing is very, very clear, that members of the system who were privy to what was going on failed the President because the President clearly didn't understand. And the President of the United States is described here generally as a man who just simply was not very much in control of the foreign policy apparatus of his administration.

[Leon Nayfak]

The Tower Report would not be the final verdict on Iran Contra. There were still congressional hearings ahead, as well as potential indictments coming out of the Independent Counsel's office. But for the time being, the report spoke loudly. Here was a panel created by the President, and the best thing they could say about him was that he was out to lunch.

[John Tower]

This is an NBC News special. President Reagan's response to the Tower Commission report. My fellow Americans, I have spoken to you from this historic office on many occasions and about many things.

[Leon Nayfak]

On March 4, 1987, Reagan delivered a primetime speech in response to the Tower Board's findings.

[John Tower]

For the past three months, I've been silent on the revelations about Iran. And you must have been thinking, well, why doesn't he tell us what's happening? But I've had to wait, as you have, for the complete story.

[Leon Nayfak]

Reagan called the Tower Report honest, convincing, and highly critical. Then he referred back to his first public statements about the scandal and admitted that they had been inaccurate.

[John Tower]

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. There are reasons why it happened, but no excuses.

[Leon Nayfak]

It was a mistake, but the time for candid self reflection had passed. As much as Reagan may have wanted to move on from Iran Contra, the scrutiny was only going to intensify as Congress prepared for televised hearings.

[John Neilds]

The public and the press wanted to know what the hell happened, how high it went, who was responsible for it, and was there anything that we didn't know.

[Leon Nayfak]

This is John Neilds. He's a former prosecutor who was hired by House Democrats as chief counsel to lead their investigation and question witnesses during the hearings.

[John Neilds]

Our job was to tell the story in a way that people could figure out for themselves what things were wrong, what things were arguably wrong and arguably right, and what things were fine.

[Leon Nayfak]

It's important to note that these were not impeachment hearings. Niels was convinced it was highly unlikely that Congress would ever take that step. Reagan was too popular and his second term was almost up anyway. Also, Niels thought it was pretty clear that whatever Reagan did, his intentions had not been malevolent. There was one circumstance in which Congress might consider impeachment. According to Niels, the ranking Republican on the committee, Warren Rudman, took the view that impeachment would only be appropriate if Reagan had personally authorized the diversion.

[John Neilds]

He made it the only issue on which Reagan could be impeached. He really wanted to find out as soon as possible the facts that in his mind would answer the question, has anything impeachable happened here?

[John Tower]

And this survey finds that public skepticism is now very deep. And 41% think that President Reagan should resign if it turns out he knew that money was being diverted to the Nicaraguan Contras.

[Leon Nayfak]

But as Nields saw it, the diversion, the hyphen at the center of Iran Contra was only a shiny object, a diversion, you might say, from everything else that was wrong with the Iran weapons program and the Contra war individually.

[John Neilds]

Knowing whether the President was responsible for the diversion was probably the most exciting question that we had to deal with. I don't think it has an awful lot to do with answering the question of whether this was a shocking and really serious breakdown in the way our government functioned. That's what I thought this was about.

[John Tower]

Millions of Americans have a nagging suspicion that the truth has not yet come out.

[Pam Naughton]

Three branches must be involved in the.

[John Tower]

Governing of the people of this country. And when one branch goes, goes hog wild without even including consultation with the other branches, that spells trouble.

[Leon Nayfak]

It's Hard to overstate how huge an undertaking these hearings were. Before Congress could publicly question a single witness, Neils and his team of investigators had to obtain documents, take depositions, and figure out which leads to pursue. That meant probing multiple government agencies, including the National Security Council, the State Department, the Pentagon, the Justice Department, and the White House itself. Then there was the international angle. The Nicaraguan thread alone involved members of the Contras who were based in Honduras and Costa Rica. On the Iran side of things, the investigators would have to make contact with Middle Eastern arms dealers and Israeli diplomats. It was hard to say where the trail would take them. But even in the simplest scenario, Niels and his colleagues were going to have to trace millions of dollars moving through a maze of Swiss bank accounts, shell companies and foreign countries.

[John Tower]

The Senate Select Committee voted today to order General Richard Secord to disclose records of Swiss bank accounts he holds. What happened to the money?

[Robert McFarlane]

Who set the accounts up? Who had access to the accounts, how much money was in the accounts, and where did the money go?

[John Neilds]

Now, this was a set of issues that if I had been an Assistant U.S. attorney, as I had been previously in my life, I would have looked at this as a one or two year investigation before you could say you'd done your job. And it was very clear that we were only going to have a matter of months.

[Leon Nayfak]

The time crunch was the result of a compromise between Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress. As you might imagine, Republicans wanted to get the hearings over and done with as quickly as possible, while Democrats argued for letting them go on as long as they needed to. Hanging over this procedural debate was the upcoming presidential election in which Ronald Reagan's vice president, George H.W. bush, was expected to run. In the end, it was decided that Congress would have until August to get through the hearings. Here is Pam Naughton, who worked on the House investigation with John Neilds.

[Pam Naughton]

It did make it more difficult because when you put an end date on the investigation before you've even begun it, how in the world do you know how long it will take? It may take less than that, it may take more than that. You go where the evidence leads you. Don't just stop.

[Leon Nayfak]

The team divided the case up into silos and assigned investigators to each one. Naughton, for instance, was put on the Department of Justice, which meant she was looking into the weekend fact finding mission you heard about in our previous episode.

[Pam Naughton]

I mean, obviously I was there to investigate what the Attorney General did when this first broke his, quote, unquote investigation to, you know, get their, quote, get their arms around the facts, but also the broader issue of what did the Department of Justice know about the arms sale? So it was sort of a wide swath of things because it involved different divisions of the department.

[Leon Nayfak]

As the clock ticked, Niels and his team encountered an obstacle that was no less daunting than their deadline. Their two would be star witnesses. Oliver north and his supervisor, John Poindexter, were were going to plead the fifth. North and Poindexter would refuse to testify at the hearings unless Congress gave them immunity. That meant guaranteeing that north and Poindexter's words would not be used against them in a criminal inquiry. The situation put Niels and his team on a collision course with the other big Iran Contra probe in town, the independent counsel, Lawrence Walsh.

[John Tower]

In a strongly worded letter accompanied by a legal memoir, Walsh urges the House committee not to grant witnesses immunity until after his work is done. To do so, he writes, would, quote, create serious and perhaps insurmountable barriers to the prosecution of the witnesses.

[Leon Nayfak]

Walsh's mandate was to identify any criminal wrongdoing that may have occurred as part of Iran Contra. That was why north and Poindexter wanted immunity if they could get it. Nothing, they said to Congress could be used against them in an indictment and.

[John Tower]

That the prosecution would have to prove its case was based on other information.

[Leon Nayfak]

As a former prosecutor, John Neilds understood how much harder that would make it for Walsh to build cases. But in the end, he supported the grant of immunity.

[John Neilds]

I felt conflicted. I knew that something good was going to come out of it, which was what I thought was the more important good, which is the public is going to learn everything.

[John Tower]

The congressional committees investigating the scandal formally approved a plan for limited immunity for these two men, John Poindexter and Oliver North. And here on Capitol Hill today, after months of expectation, the full story of the Iran Contra affair begins to unfold for all of us to see.

[Leon Nayfak]

The Iran Contra hearings opened on May 5, 1987, a little more than six months after the scandal broke. They were run by a joint committee, meaning the House and the Senate were combining their investigations so that witnesses wouldn't have to testify twice.

[John Tower]

The joint hearings of the House Select Committee to Investigate covert arms transaction with Iran and the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan opposition will come to order.

[Leon Nayfak]

The first witness would be retired Major General Richard Secord, who had overseen logistics for both the Contra war and the Iran weapons program.

[John Tower]

A key figure who has not been heard from before began to tell the committees of his own involvement in sending arms to Iran and in helping the countries in Central America.

[Leon Nayfak]

Secord did not demand immunity in exchange for his testimony. He insisted that his involvement was that of a private citizen and a businessman. He told the committee about how his operation had worked and said he thought he was just carrying out the President's policy.

[John Tower]

The President has certain rights in the foreign policy area. I never saw myself as being a foreign policy operative. You saw nothing wrong with this operation? I did not see anything wrong with it.

[Leon Nayfak]

Then Secord seemed sensitive to suggestions that he had only gotten involved in Iran Contra to make money.

[John Tower]

There was no intention of a profiteering. I know that some people are tossing this word around right now and I resent it. If Secord wasn't doing all this for profit, why wouldn't he turn over records of his Swiss bank accounts? I relied on the advice of my counsel. Let's get off the subject. You're making the rulings? No, sir. But I did not come here to be badgered.

[Leon Nayfak]

Secord's testimony set the tone for the rest of the hearings. Bud McFarlane testified next.

[John Tower]

Our witness this morning is Mr. Robert Carl McFarlane, the former national security adviser to the president.

[Leon Nayfak]

When McFarland was asked about Oliver North's destruction of documents, the term shredding party was introduced into the national lexicon.

[John Tower]

Colonel north tell you in the car that there was going to be a shredding party that weekend?

[Robert McFarlane]

Well, just if there had to be one.

[Leon Nayfak]

By the end of May 1987, the Iran Contra hearings were becoming a national obsession. This is a song from a late night Cinemax show called this Week Indoors. As the hearings continued, the witnesses just kept getting more exciting. About a month in America met Oliver North's personal secretary, Fawn hall.

[John Tower]

She is 27 years old. She went to high school in Virginia and then on to finishing school and a course in modeling.

[Leon Nayfak]

Hall was blonde and striking. As it turned out, she was a former model.

[John Tower]

Vaughn Hall's appearance on Capitol Hill was a media event. She was surrounded by cameras and security men. Hall read an opening statement making as clear as she could that despite her looks, the she is not just a pretty face and perform my duties in an exemplary manner. I can type that last, of course, a reference to congressional sex scandals involving secretaries who admitted they could not type.

[Leon Nayfak]

Hall's looks were not the only reason people were anticipating her testimony. They also wanted to know about the so called shredding party that she and north allegedly collaborated on after the Iran scandal broke.

[John Tower]

Fawn hall told how she altered and shredded key documents as secretary to Lt. Col. Oliver north at the White House. And as he pulled documents from each drawer and placed them on top of the shredder, I inserted them into the shredder.

[Leon Nayfak]

Hall also testified to sneaking documents out of North's office by stuffing them in her clothes.

[John Tower]

And then you proceeded to remove documents from your boots and from other parts of your clothing, is that correct? That's correct, sir.

[Leon Nayfak]

More than anything, Fawn Hall's testimony was about defending Oliver North. She portrayed the colonel as a patriot, a hard working idealist whose only goal was to protect the United States. According to hall, everything north did, including the destruction of documents, was done in the name of American interests.

[John Tower]

And did you surmise that this was a way of trying to cover up something in conjunction with the Iran initiative or the contrainitiative? I don't use the word cover up. I would use the word protect.

[Leon Nayfak]

Fawn hall wasn't the only witness to go to bat for North. One of the Contra leaders flew in to testify as well. And even though most of what he had to say implicated north in Contra activities, what stuck out was the ardor with which he defended North's character and dedication to the anti communist cause.

[John Tower]

I have and still have high respect for Colonel North. There was a group saying that they were going to erect a monument for Colonel north once that Nicaragua was liberated. Would it be possible to make a brief closing statement? And I will ask before I read it. It's a poem.

[Leon Nayfak]

Then North's assistant, Robert Owen, ended his closing statement by reading a poem.

[John Tower]

Ali, your enemies are more clever and more treacherous than ours, yet you have given all you had to give. We have so very little to give you in return. Yet we want you to know that in our hearts and our prayers, you're with us daily. You're giving our children a chance to live as free individuals. And for these things, we say, thank you, Ollie North. And I can only add that I love Ollie north like a brother. And I want to thank the committee.

[Leon Nayfak]

All this fanfare around Oliver north, who had been refusing to testify, built anticipation for the moment when the man himself would finally appear before the committee and give his side of the story.

[John Tower]

Oliver north, after months of delaying and stonewalling, finally goes before Congress tomorrow. 59% of those surveyed think north will.

[John Neilds]

Lie to congressional committees investigating the scandal.

[John Tower]

When he begins testifying Tuesday.

[Leon Nayfak]

As the summer of Iran Contra wore on, north had everyone's attention.

[John Tower]

Not in the history of Congress have so many lawmakers been so interested in what a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps has to say for the swashbuckling Marine who once declared without complaint that he was ready to be the fall guy. D day is at hand. The hearing will please come to order.

[Leon Nayfak]

On the morning of July 7, 1987, Oliver north sat before the Congressional committee waiting for his testimony to begin. He wore his Marine uniform, proudly displaying the ribbons and medals he had earned in Vietnam, including two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star. North's salt and pepper hair was neatly parted, and he sat straight up with his jaw squared.

[John Tower]

Colonel north, please rise.

[Leon Nayfak]

He looked young and almost indecently handsome. Here's Pam Naughton again.

[Pam Naughton]

When he took the oath, all the cameras started snapping. It was like a whole flock of birds had descended upon the room.

[John Tower]

Do you solemnly swear that in the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing?

[Leon Nayfak]

Remember, North's testimony was being shown live on television, and Naughton believes that the camera angles affected the way he was perceived.

[Pam Naughton]

They had placed a third camera on the floor so that you could sort of see him sitting over the camera. And it made him much larger than he was in person. He's a rather slight man, but on tv, because of the angle of the camera, he looked, you know, heroic and huge and strong.

[Leon Nayfak]

John Neilds was first up to question north, and north did not waste any time telegraphing his attitude about what was going on.

[John Tower]

Colonel north, you were involved in two.

[John Neilds]

Operations of this government of great significance to the people of this country, is that correct?

[John Tower]

At least two. Yes, sir.

[John Neilds]

And these operations were carried out in secret?

[John Tower]

We hope so.

[John Neilds]

They were.

[Leon Nayfak]

Neild began with a line of questioning about why north had felt it was proper to keep his activities secret and to destroy evidence after the fact. North's response was that he couldn't risk the possibility of America's adversaries getting their hands on classified information. Niels pressed him.

[John Neilds]

But it was designed to be kept a secret from the American people.

[John Tower]

I think what is important, Mr. Niels, is that we somehow arrive at some kind of an understanding right here and now as to what a covert operation is. If we could find a way to insulate with a bubble over these hearings that are being broadcast in Moscow and talk about covert operations to the American people without it getting into the hands of our adversaries, I'm sure we would do that.

[Leon Nayfak]

Niels was trying to make an argument that in retrospect, he feels like he didn't quite get across in the heat of the moment.

[John Neilds]

The reason this was covert was not because we were afraid our enemies would find out about it. We were afraid the American people were going to find out about it. Lots of it was unlawful and that he's going to wrap himself in God, country and flag as a justification for telling lies about stuff.

[Leon Nayfak]

The contrast between north and Nields was almost cartoonish. North looked like G.I. joe, while Nield was more like a pencil necked, long haired graduate student. And though north went out of his way to punctuate his comments with polite formalities, the mutual hostility between the two men was obvious. It didn't help that North's lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, was regularly interrupting Neilds and raising objections.

[John Tower]

Objection. How many times do we have to have the question answered? Asked Mr. Chairman.

[Leon Nayfak]

At one point, north and Sullivan seemed to be mocking Neilds from their table. Nields was frustrated.

[John Tower]

What is your question, counsel?

[John Neilds]

Have you forgotten the question?

[John Tower]

Well, I have and I have to make objections.

[Leon Nayfak]

So you ask.

[John Neilds]

You did and it was overruled. And the question stands. I'd like the witness to answer it if he remembers it.

[John Tower]

Could we.

[Leon Nayfak]

He obviously doesn't remember it.

[John Tower]

He just asked you to repeat it. May he have?

[John Neilds]

You did. He did not. Sir, do you remember the question?

[John Tower]

My memory has been shredded. If you would be so kind as to repeat the question.

[Leon Nayfak]

Pam Naughton, a congressional investigator working under Neilds, was taken aback by North's demeanor.

[Pam Naughton]

I remember after about an hour or so, John Neilds said, well, we're going to take a break now, but when we come back, I'm going to ask you about xyz. And north said something the effect of, oh, I can hardly wait.

[John Neilds]

When we get back, I am going to ask you some questions relating to those transactions.

[John Tower]

That's a cliffhanger of an ending.

[Leon Nayfak]

When the committee took a short break, Naughton and some of her colleagues whispered to each other about North's performance.

[Pam Naughton]

We were saying to ourselves behind the dais, boy, he's really coming off like a jerk.

[Leon Nayfak]

But then an ABC News reporter named Britt Hume checked in with the committee lawyers and set them straight.

[Pam Naughton]

You know, we said, what do you think? And he goes, I think he's a jerk. He said, but he's coming off great on tv. We're getting flooded with calls. People love him.

[Leon Nayfak]

At the same time, committee members were also getting a sense of how well north was playing with the folks watching at home.

[Pam Naughton]

The members went back to their offices and were finding that their switchboards were getting flooded with calls of people who loved this handsome lieutenant colonel with all of his medals.

[John Tower]

Oliver north seems to have much of the nation in the palm of his hand.

[Leon Nayfak]

Over the course of his six days of testimony, north developed a true fan base.

[John Tower]

44% of those surveyed view north as a patriot and hero. 48% believe north is being harassed by the congressional panels. And 28% say they would enthusiastically support north if he ran for public office.

[Leon Nayfak]

Journalists were happy to embrace the public affection for north, evidently relieved to have a real leading man in the Iran Contra crisis. The media took to calling him by his nickname, Ollie. And before long everyone was talking about olly mania.

[John Tower]

Movies, lectures, million dollar book contracts. The Washington Post ran a lengthy analysis of Colonel North's face.

[Leon Nayfak]

The three major news networks canceled regularly scheduled programming to show North's testimony. Gavel to gavel.

[John Tower]

A barmaid near Boston had expected to dislike Colonel North. After watching the testimony, I began to dislike the committee that was questioning him. I felt as though they were conducting a witch hunt.

[Leon Nayfak]

I think it's a witch hunt. He's precious in that uniform, the real hero.

[John Tower]

And I'm with you 100% and I'm glad he's an American marine and I'm proud of him.

[Leon Nayfak]

By the third day of North's testimony, thousands of telegrams have been sent to the White House, very few of them critical. Flowers for north arrived daily to the Senate office building.

[John Tower]

Our Oliver north has become the hottest ticket in town. There are Oliver North T shirts, there's talk of an Oliver north doll.

[Leon Nayfak]

Barbers offered Ollie north style haircuts. Ollie for President Merch sprang up across the country.

[John Tower]

Ollie burger served up with shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, and of course topped with an American flag. Let's face it, love him or hate him, the man's become an instant celebrity. You think of another country where that had happened.

[Leon Nayfak]

John Neilds, the long haired lawyer for the House Democrats, remembers North's popularity rising at his expense.

[John Neilds]

I found out that there were a significant portion of the world that thought Ollie north was a cool guy and that I wasn't a cool guy.

[Leon Nayfak]

But Niels got the appeal and he understood the dynamic.

[John Neilds]

This was Vietnam. I don't know what it is now, maybe it's immigration or something. But the left right thing was Vietnam. And he was playing to the people who felt dissed. Their patriotism had been disrespected after Vietnam and that the country had abandoned them in the middle of a war and left them to die and come home as anything other than heroes. And I understand that very well. I mean, I thought the Vietnam war is a big, big mistake. And so if he was trying to pitch me as one of those people, it would be truthful.

[Leon Nayfak]

Pam Naughton says the deluge of calls and letters had an immediate effect on the committee members line of questioning.

[Pam Naughton]

And that's when they basically stopped asking, you know, difficult questions. Just the natural fear of a member. Whenever you put a question in front of them, the member would say, well, what's he gonna say? Well, I don't know what he's gonna say. That's why it's an investigation. And they wouldn't do it, not with a witness who had that much public, powerful sway at that point.

[Leon Nayfak]

The softballs north was getting from the committee members stood in stark contrast to the grilling he received from Nields.

[John Neilds]

At sort of the end of his questioning. I asked him about lying to Congress.

[Leon Nayfak]

North was defiant.

[John Tower]

I think we can abbreviate this in hopes that we can move on so that I can finish this week.

[John Neilds]

But almost like proud of himself. I will tell you right now, counsel and all the members here gathered and.

[John Tower]

All the members here gathered that I misled the Congress.

[John Neilds]

I missed at that meeting.

[John Tower]

At that meeting, face to face, face.

[John Neilds]

To face, you made false statements to them about your activities in support of the Contras.

[John Tower]

I did.

[John Neilds]

I mean it's who he is. And he was telling the truth then. So that's. I give him credit for. That's good.

[Leon Nayfak]

One thing that was interesting about Oliver North's testimony was that as unapologetic as he was, he didn't exactly take the blame for the scandal. In fact, he made it clear over and over again that even though he stood by everything he had done, he had also just been following orders like a good Marine.

[John Tower]

I was simply a staff member with a demonstrated ability to get the job done. I reported directly to Mr. McFarland and to Admiral Poindexter. My authority to act always flowed, I believed, from my superiors. My military training inculcated in me a strong belief in the chain of command. And so far as I can recall, I always acted on major matters with specific approval after informing my superiors of the facts as I knew them, the risks and the potential benefits.

[Leon Nayfak]

This testimony fed into the big question coursing through the Iran Contra hearings. How much had the President known? Specifically, what had he known about the diversion of funds from the Iran operation to the Contras? The person best positioned to answer this question was John Poindexter, Oliver North's boss and the national security adviser at the time of the 1986 arms shipments.

[John Tower]

North says he had sent Poindexter five memos seeking President Reagan's approval for the diversion. North says he doesn't know if they reached the president, so committee members will ask Poindexter.

[Leon Nayfak]

We'll be right back.

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[John Tower]

The committees meet this morning to hear the testimony of Admiral John Poindexter. Admiral, would you please rise to take the oath?

[Leon Nayfak]

John Poindexter, who had resigned as Reagan's National Security Advisor over Iran contrast, took the stand on July 15, right after North. Poindexter was more subdued than north, but came across as similarly unrepentant, stating flatly that he had been hoping to withhold information from Congress.

[John Tower]

It wasn't withholding it from the American people. It was that there were a lot of opponents in the Congress that would have not agreed with our interpretation of the Boland Amendment. They wouldn't have agreed to the Iranian project. And if it came out, it was going to be a very hot political issue and it would be used to pound on the President.

[Leon Nayfak]

Then it came time for Poindexter to answer the million dollar question. Taking intermittent puffs on his pipe, he explained that none of his superiors, including President Reagan, had been aware of the diversion of Iran weapons profits to the Contras. To drive the point home, Poindexter invoked Harry Truman's famous line about accountability.

[John Tower]

I think it's, you know, an important point here is on this whole issue, you know, the buck stops here with me. I made the decision. I felt that I had the authority to do it. I was convinced that the President would, in the end, think it was a good idea, but I did not want him to be associated with the decision.

[Leon Nayfak]

John Neilds told me he still thinks about Poindexter's answer and he still doesn't know what to make of it. On the one hand, Poindexter was testifying plainly that he did not tell Reagan about the diversion. On the other hand, he was admitting that his goal had been to give the President deniability.

[John Neilds]

He was telling them, my role in life, according to my lights, is to take the blame so that the President doesn't have to. And there could be two ways of doing that. One, not tell the President and not tell the truth. Here. Those are the two different ways. Well, it goes without saying I have no idea whether he told the truth or not. And I think that's what everybody thought.

[Leon Nayfak]

What?

[John Neilds]

That they didn't know whether Poindexter told the truth.

[Leon Nayfak]

After Poindexter's testimony, the three news networks began rotating coverage of the hearings and resumed their regularly scheduled programming. By eliminating the possibility that Reagan would be personally linked to the diversion. Poindexter had effectively closed the case and taken impeachment off the table.

[John Tower]

The scandal is largely over. Some committee members say this is a suspense novel which has lost its suspense. That may be one reason the committee now hopes to wrap up its work a week early. By the end of July.

[Leon Nayfak]

Pam Naughton remembers thinking about how differently Oliver north and John Poindexter had approached the issue of responsibility. Poindexter had at least made a show of owning the diversion. North, on the other hand, had emphasized his status as a low level operative carrying out a mission handed to him from on high.

[Pam Naughton]

To this day I'm shocked because he is still viewed in many segments of the right as this hero, this heroic guy. The truth of the matter is he took the fifth Amendment. He only testified with a grant of immunity, with a deal. And if you listen to his testimony, he pointed the finger upward. He said he believed the President of the United States knew what he was doing. He was a snitch, essentially in common parlance. And it was Poindexter, his boss, that took the bullet. It's Poindexter who came in a regular street suit, not in his admiral uniform and basically said the buck stops here. I didn't discuss it with the President. I take the bullet.

[Leon Nayfak]

After the hearings ended, the Congressional committee wrote up their findings and published them that November in a 690 page report.

[John Tower]

Good morning. The joint House and Senate committees which investigated the Iran Contra affair today issue their majority report, a 690 page document that does not produce a smoking gun.

[Leon Nayfak]

The committee's conclusions were quite different than the Tower Commission's report released earlier in the year.

[John Tower]

It was in the opinion of the majority who signed this report, the President who had set the tone, allowing a cabal of zealots to seize control. The common ingredients in the Iran Contra affair were secrecy, deception and a disdain for law.

[Leon Nayfak]

The report was particularly critical of the White House's end runs around Congress.

[John Tower]

They conducted a secret foreign policy and Congressional concealed it through a concerted campaign of dishonesty and deception. And when the affair began to unravel, they attempted to cover up their deeds.

[Leon Nayfak]

But a group of eight Republicans who had served on the committee refused to sign on to the verdict.

[John Tower]

Included in the final report is a minority section which accuses the committees of reaching hysterical conclusions. It started out as a witch hunt. It proceeded as a witch hunt. And the final report indicates that indeed it was a witch hunt led by.

[Leon Nayfak]

A Wyoming congressman named Dick Cheney. The Republican dissenters published their own report making the case not only for Reagan's innocence, but for the innocence of his entire administration. They said there was no systematic disrespect for the rule of law, no grand conspiracy and no administration wide dishonesty or cover up. In their opinion, the majority's conclusions were hysterical.

[John Tower]

I think what the President was guilty of was making unwise decisions such as sending arms to Iran. But I think he had the legal authority to do that. I think he had the legal authority to withhold notification from Congress. I don't think those decisions were always wise.

[Leon Nayfak]

Cheney and the other seven Republicans argued that the real fault for Iran Contra lay with a Congressman who had pushed for the restrictions on Contra funding. It was a robust defense of executive authority, one that Dick Cheney would later echo as Vice President. By the time Congress wrapped up its work, there was one politician besides Ronald Reagan who remained unscathed. George H.W. bush had been director of the CIA before becoming vice President. He had sat in on many high level meetings involving national security during the Reagan years. The but the committee report was inconclusive on what Bush knew about Iran Contra.

[John Tower]

The committees concluded that there is no evidence that Vice President Bush knew anything about the diversion.

[Leon Nayfak]

In the fall of 1987, when the report was released, Bush was on to bigger and better things. I am here today to announce my.

[John Tower]

Candidacy for President of the United States.

[Leon Nayfak]

When asked about Iran Contra in interviews, Bush insisted that he had been out of the loop. However, Bush told the Washington Post, if he were ever to find himself in Ronald Reagan's position, he would expect his staff to give him the facts. I wouldn't want somebody, he said, to protect me from myself. On the next episode of Fiasco, Iran Contra goes to Hollywood.

[John Tower]

Holly, you can't lie to your own people. It's not a lie. It's a covert operation. Hostage lives depend on what we do here.

[Leon Nayfak]

Aaron. For a list of books, articles and documentaries we used in our research, follow the link in the show notes. Fiasco is a production of prologue projects and it's distributed by Pushkin Industries. Shows produce produced by Andrew Parsons, Madeline Kaplan, Ula Culpa and me, Leon Nayfak. Our editor was Camilla Hammer. Our researcher was Francis Carr with additional archival research from Caitlin Nicholas. Our music is by Nick Sylvester. Our theme song is by Spatial Relations. Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at chipsny. Audio mix by Rob Byers, Michael Rayfiel and Johnny Vince Evans. Copyright count provided by Peter Yossi at Yossi Butler pllc thanks to Lee Hamilton, Amy Fried Brendan Sullivan, Melissa Kaplan, Harold Koh, as well as Sam Graham Felson, Soraya Shockley and Katya Kumkova. Special thanks to Luminary and thank you for listening. Binge the entire season of Fiasco Iran Contra ad free by subscribing to Pushkin. Sign up on the Fiasco show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin fm. Plus Pushkin subscribers can access ad free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges and bonus content for all Pushkin podcasts.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[John Tower]

Did you know? Women are more likely than men to develop dry eyes, which may be due.

[Leon Nayfak]

To hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle.

[John Tower]

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[Leon Nayfak]

Use as often as needed.

[John Tower]

Find Refresh online or in the eyedrop.

[Leon Nayfak]

Aisle at all major retailers. Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats.

[John Tower]

What do we mean by almost?

[Leon Nayfak]

Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken Parmesan delivered. A cabana?

[John Tower]

That's a no, but a banana?

[John Neilds]

That's a yes.

[John Tower]

A nice tan?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Sorry, nope.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

But a box fan?

[John Tower]

Happily, yes.

[Leon Nayfak]

A day of sunshine?

[John Tower]

No.

[Leon Nayfak]

A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost almost anything delivered with UberEats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app. For details, you're listening to an iHeart podcast.