Mixed Blessing

For the first time in the short history of the labyrinthine White House scandal, a plausible version of events was taking shape, based on sworn testimony and Administration documents. According to the latest scenario, the Administration's weapons deals with Iran were a straightforward arms-for- hostages swap. Reagan's repeated claim that the transactions were an overture to moderate factions in the Iranian government was no more than a rationale concocted by CIA Director William Casey. Lieut. Colonel Oliver North was instrumental in persuading the President to proceed; North's boss, former National Security Adviser John Poindexter, was aware that Iran arms profits were being diverted to Nicaraguan contras. Casey, too, knew of the diversion weeks before he has claimed he was told. Yet Ronald Reagan seemed "surprised" to learn last November of the contra connection.

These were some of the disclosures in a Senate Intelligence Committee draft report based on the four weeks of hearings the panel held before Christmas. Although committee members voted last week against releasing their findings, an earlier version, like so many other important documents in Washington, was leaked before the week was out. Despite the report's damning implication that the President either did not know or did not comprehend fully what his staff was up to, the White House was eager for the document's release. The primary reason: the preliminary investigation found no evidence linking the President to the illegal rerouting of money to the contras.

Shortly after highlights of the document were broadcast on NBC Nightly News, the White House announced, "We believe that this report will underscore the fact that the President knew absolutely nothing about the diversion of funds from Iran to the contras and that no such policy was ever approved by the President." In the terminology of Watergate: no smoking gun. It was a curious vindication, proclaiming Reagan's innocence by revealing his ignorance.

The strategy seemed intended to distance the White House from the scandal's central players, North and Poindexter. Earlier in the week, White House officials said the Administration had unwittingly given misleading testimony to Congress about the Iran affair based on a falsified chronology that North had prepared with CIA assistance last November. "People are coming to grips with the fact that North just doesn't tell the truth very much," said one Reagan aide. But the tactic could backfire if the two rogue former NSC staffers, who have so far kept silent, decide to start talking. "So we're throwing Ollie over the side?" mused a White House official after watching the week's events. "That's not very smart."