Word: iranscam
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...Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The shipment in a West German flag carrier was illegal under a Bonn law that forbids the transport of armaments to "areas of tension." The delivery was contracted for by the Danish shipping firm of Finn J. Poulsen, which has an indirect connection with Iranscam. Last April the company sold a 163-ft. ship to shadowy private partners of Oliver North, who paid with funds from North's Geneva bank account. That ship was used to deliver arms to the Nicaraguan contras...
...single issue in the Iranscam mess could still cause irreparable harm to the Reagan presidency, it is the purportedly illegal diversion of funds from Iranian arms sales to the Nicaraguan contra rebels. Ronald Reagan has denied any knowledge of the labyrinthine transfer, via Swiss bank accounts, of at least $23 million to the contras. The President repeated his denial during last week's televised speech, and the Tower commission discovered nothing that directly contradicted his assertion...
Nonetheless, much about the contra fund diversion remains unknown. Who ordered the diversion, and where did the money go? Answering those questions will be one of the main objectives of the Iranscam independent counsel, Lawrence Walsh, and the Senate and House committees that are also probing the scandal...
...very least, the legal uncertainty may encourage some witnesses to snub investigators in the Iranscam probe and other inquiries (among them, the investigation of former Reagan Aide Lyn Nofziger on conflict-of-interest charges). The threat is serious enough that Justice Department officials and congressional leaders are talking of a possible compromise: President Reagan could reappoint the same independent counsel himself, thus circumventing the constitutional problem. Says Stanley Brand, former counsel to the House of Representatives: "Unless they work this out, we could be headed for a crisis of confidence in the administration of justice...
Baker's appointment was the most encouraging sign in months that Reagan is still capable of saving his Administration from the Iranscam quagmire. The retired Senate majority leader was hailed as a principled pragmatist who is also a respected public figure. "It was a first-rate appointment that provides the White House with instant credibility," said Kenneth Duberstein, a prominent lobbyist and Reagan's former legislative liaison. As congressional hearings on the Iran-contra affair get under way this spring, the Administration might also benefit from the respect Baker commands among his former colleagues on Capitol Hill. Said Senator Alan...