From: [P--sp--o] at [cup.portal.com] (Keith W Ammann) Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.politics.clinton,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh Subject: The Walsh report Date: 19 Jan 94 00:26:58 GMT Below is the full text of the first complete article on the Iran-Contra report from The Associated Press. If you get an evening newspaper, this article will probably be in it, but it may have been edited. If your paper comes in the morning, you will probably see a later version (hopefully one that doesn't omit a first reference to Col. Oliver North, as this one did -- the "edits to tighten" apparently deleted it). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- U,W,1 - PM-IRAN-CONTRA,2NDLD-WRITETHRU 01-18 0879 - PM-Iran-Contra, 2nd Ld-Writethru,0826 URGENT Report: Reagan Was Aware of Coverup EDS: Combines pvs; edits throughout to tighten By PETE YOST Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Reagan authorized both the arms sales and military aid that became the focus of the Iran-Contra scandal and knowingly participated or at least acquiesced" in a coverup by his top aides, the prosecutor concluded in his final report released today. Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh said in the 566-page report, which concluded his seven-year investigation, that there was "no credible evidence that President Reagan violated any criminal statute." "Nevertheless, he set the stage for the illegal activities of others by encouraging and, in general terms, ordering" military aid to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua at a time when Congress banned such aid, the report said. Reagan also authorized the sale of arms to Iran in an attempt to win the release of American hostages despite warnings that such transactions might be illegal, the report said. And when the operation became public in 1986, Reagan "knowingly participated or at least acquiesced in the efforts" of his top aides to cover up the arms sale to Iran, the report said. Walsh said the president's disregard for laws created a climate in which some of the government officers assigned to implement his policies felt emboldened to circumvent such laws. The report was expected to draw an aggressive response from those named in it. Theodore Olson, head of Reagan's legal team, has maintained that Reagan's conduct in the scandal was "above reproach." Former Attorney General Edwin Meese called Walsh's conclusions "outrageous" and said he plans to "confront Walsh's false statements head-on." Walsh's report, completed last August, had been sealed in the files of a federal appeals court to allow those named in it time to respond. Among its other conclusions: * Large numbers of "highly relevant" documents "were systematically and willfully withheld from investigators by several Reagan administration officials." * There was no evidence that Vice President George Bush violated any laws, but Walsh concluded that "contrary to his public pronouncements" Bush "wa fully aware of the Iran arms sale." Bush's lawyers maintain their client never misled the public about his role in the affair. * Bush failed to produce a diary of his notes he took during the Iran- Contra affair despite repeated attempts [sic] for such documents. * Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of State George Schultz and White House chief of staff Donald T. Regan withheld information from Congress that would have helped lawmakers get "a much clearer view of the scope of the Iran-Contra matter." * Notes that Regan and Weinberger took, plus those dictated by Weinberger, were withheld from investigators until late in the investigation. Walsh also concluded that Bush, when he was vice president, participated in discussions about raising money from foreign countries to help the Contras. Walsh said he wanted to conduct a second interview with Bush because the prosecutor's "continuing investigation exposed evidence that called into question previous statements" by Bush about his knowledge and involvement in the scandal. Although Bush produced the diary in December 1992, prosecutors did not interview Bush a second time during the waning days of his presidency. Several of the report's conclusions were described to The Associated Press in advance by sources who were shown portions of the document over the past 5-1/2 months by a special three-judge panel of judges [sic]. Reagan, Meese and [Col. Oliver] North filed secret court papers last month seeking to block the report's release, but the special panel of three appellate court judges that has been holding the report ordered its release. Reagan and Meese decided last week they won't seek Supreme Court review -- and said they looked forward to attacking what they regard as Walsh's false conclusions. Walsh obtained convictions against 11 people in the affair, which was the largest scandal of the Reagan administration. But his two biggest court victories were lost on appeal -- the cases against former national security adviser John Poindexter and North, who now is seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate from Virginia. Walsh's biggest setback came on Christmas Eve 1992, when Bush scuttled Walsh's case by pardoning former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger on charges of lying to Congress and to Walsh's investigators. Bush also pardoned five other Iran-Contra figures. Walsh accused Weinberger of concealing his handwritten notes, which detailed key White House meetings with the president and the Cabinet in the Iran-Contra scandal. The notes suggest that Meese and other Cabinet members protected Reagan by saying the president had not known about one of the arms-for-hostages deals -- a possibly illegal shipment of Hawk missiles to Iran in November 1985. Weinberger repeatedly told investigators he did not keep notes, but prosecutors found thousands of pages of jottings by Weinberger in 1992 in a private collection of Weinberger's papers at the Library of Congress. AP-CS-01-18-94 1119EST ### -- What about tomorrow? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Keith Ammann is ++++++++++++++++++++++++ "We must not unsheathe + [P--sp--o] at [cup.Portal.com] Quidvis recte factum + the great sword of intellect +++++++++++++++++++++++++ quamvis humile + to cut butter!" + "... BUT DON'T GO IN praeclarum est ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE BASEMENT!"