Eric Zorn’s Dec. 15 column, in an attempt to excuse President Clinton’s behavior, distorts the role of Caspar Weinberger in the Iran-contra affair.
Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh, whose convictions of Oliver North and John Poindexter were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court, chose to prosecute Secretary Weinberger on charges that he lied about keeping a diary.
Weinberger’s notes were not concealed–he had donated them to the Library of Congress and the entries concerning Iran-contra consisted of only a few lines.
Far from being a “slam dunk,” as Zorn says, the charges were never proved. A judge threw out the indictment that Walsh filed four days before the 1992 elections in a calculated and vindictive political stunt.
Walsh’s conduct was abusive–seven years of investigation and $47 million spent, only to come to the same conclusion as the congressional investigations, namely that the Reagan administration made mistakes but did nothing criminal. His only convictions were for peripheral offenses by minor players.
George Bush’s pardon of Weinberger was not an abuse of power but a correction of an injustice. He consulted with Democratic leaders, and they agreed that Walsh had overstepped his bounds and charged someone who had actually opposed the policy.
The Reagan administration attempted to save the lives of American citizens being held hostage in Lebanon by trading weapons for help in getting them out.
The administration also tried to prevent an Iraqi victory over Iran that would have given Saddam Hussein effective control of the Persian Gulf.
The diversion of money to the contras–probably not illegal because of the poor wording of the Boland amendment, which prohibited it–kept their counterinsurgency alive and forced the Sandinistas to hold democratic elections. Far from treason, the actions were both honorable and effective.
When the scandal was revealed, President Reagan did not invoke privileges (even though there were national security considerations), and urged everyone to cooperate fully with investigators.
What Zorn is doing is the saddest legacy of Monicagate. Unable to justify Clinton’s despicable behavior, his supporters must tear other presidents down.
