American Notes IRANSCAM

January 1987. The Reagan Administration is in the throes of the Iran-contra scandal. National attention is focused on former National Security Council Aide Oliver North as a central figure in the political melodrama. But North isn't talking. The White House is on edge; no one knows what secrets North holds or whom he may implicate in the scandal. In this atmosphere of high anxiety, North's attorney, Brendan Sullivan, meets with Reagan's special counselor on Iranscam, David Abshire. Sullivan's objective: a presidential pardon for his client.

News of Sullivan's secret meeting broke in the Washington Post last week and gave credence to reports that the White House had been considering pardons for Iranscam's key players. Abshire maintained, however, that no deals were discussed with Sullivan. The lawyer, he said, "simply was making his case for his client."