The Tower Panel: Laying Out the Brutal Facts

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In April of last year, North prepared a memo seeking presidential approval for McFarlane's trip to Tehran and stating that $12 million in "residual" funds from the transaction would "be used to purchase critically needed supplies for the Nicaraguan Democratic Resistance Forces." But the board could find no evidence that North had even sent the memo to Poindexter. By May, North had told McFarlane that "the government is availing itself of part of the money for application to Central America." North told Assistant ^ Secretary of Defense Richard Armitage in November that "it's going to be just fine . . . the Ayatollah is helping us with the Contras."

As for the President, the board concludes that "no evidence has come to light to suggest" that Reagan knew before Meese told him in November.

Was there a cover-up? In perhaps its weakest section, the report notes that North, "either on his own or at the behest of others, actively sought to conceal important information" after the scandal became known. He produced a chronology of Iranscam events that "had many inaccuracies." McFarlane is faulted for helping Poindexter, North and other NSC staffers produce a dozen versions of this chronology, which the former National Security Adviser admitted "did not present a full and completely accurate account." The board reported that it could not confirm whether North had shredded documents relevant to the investigations under way.

On Nov. 21, just before the diversion of funds became public, Casey and Poindexter briefed congressional intelligence committees but "did not fully relate the nature of events as they had occurred." This produced an "understandable perception," said the board all too softly, "that they were not forthcoming." More ominously, the board also expressed its concern that notes presumably made by Poindexter, the official notetaker at key NSC meetings, "appear to be missing."

But in perhaps its most comforting finding for Ronald Reagan, the board concluded that "he did not intend to mislead the American public, or cover-up unlawful conduct." This was despite such televised claims by the President as "we did not trade arms for hostages" and all the weapons sent to Iran were defensive and "could fit in one plane." Unfortunately, the panel makes it relentlessly clear that the President's appalling lack of understanding about what was really occurring in no way vindicates him or his Administration. Indeed, that is the most damning indictment.