Caspar Weinberger and the Iran-Contra Scandal:
Saint or Sinner?

H. R. Mahood
Ramona Mahood
University of Memphis

     The late Caspar Weinberger is a political enigma. A long time stalwart of the Republican Party, he served in numerous high levels, policy making positions on both the state and national level. Former presidents Nixon and Reagan made use of his talents during their administrations. He quickly developed a reputation as a hard-nosed, no nonsense bureaucrat when it came to administering and budgeting various state and national spending programs. He, indeed, was a pillar of Republican establishment in the l970s and ‘80s.
     However, Weinberger demonstrated party loyalty almost to a fault. During the later stages of the Reagan Administration, for example, he comprised his integrity by indulging a number of questionable tactics that sullied his public image. He became entangled in Iran-Contra scandal, and gave evasive answers to both congressional committees appointed to investigate the scandal as well as to an independent counsel. Additionally, he sought to deny these investigators access to notes and other materials he compiled in connection with the scandal. Weinberger also consistently denied, in public, any detailed knowledge of the affair or of any attempts by President Reagan or his staff of any stone-walling or cover-up.
A Political Profile
     Caspar Weinberger was born in l917, in San Francisco, California. As the son of a lawyer, his father sparked young Weinberger’s interest in politics and government. As an adolescent, he frequently read the Congressional Record and came to see politics as an ‘honorable profession’. Always an avid reader, his reading interests tended toward English history and the novels of Thackeray, Trollope and Sir Walter Scott. He was also drawn to music, ballet, and the theater.
     Weinberger attended Harvard University where he edited the Harvard Crimson, won election to Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated magna cum laude. He also received his law degree from Harvard in 194l. With the coming of WWII, he enlisted as a private and attended Officer Candidate School. His service was in the Pacific theater, with service in the 41st Infantry Division.  He came out of the war a captain, started a law office and became active in politics.
     In 1952, he was elected to the California legislature where he took on and cleaned up a corrupt state liquor commission. This activity brought him to the attention of Ronald Reagan, who recruited Weinberger to help solve California’s budget problems while he, Reagan, was governor. In this capacity, he demonstrated his budget-trimming talents.
     His tireless pursuit of Reagan’s fiscal policies, brought him to the attention of the Nixon White House in 1969, and he was appointed as head of the Federal Trade Commission. In this position, Weinberger instituted a number of fiscal reforms. He then moved on to head the Office of Management and Budget in 1970 (Congressional Quarterly, 1970, 1575). He later served as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, returning to the private sector in 1975 as special counsel to the Bechtel Corporation, headed by George Shultz, who later became Reagan’s Secretary of State.
     Weinberger was recalled to public service from Bechtel by Reagan who appointed him as Secretary of Defense (Congressional Quarterly, 1980, 35-47). It was in this role that led to Weinberger’s greatest challenge to his established reputation: federal felony charges stemming from his alleged role in the sale of weapons to Iran to finance secret, illegal aid to the Nicaragua Contras, and an expanding scandal within the Reagan Administration with respect to ‘arms for hostages’. This affair stained the closing years of Reagan’s Administration and the political careers of many individuals close to the president, including Caspar Weinberger.
Reagan’s Private War: Iran-Contra
     In the mid-1980s, the Reagan Administration involved itself in a series of covert activities we now know as the Iran-Contra scandal. Reagan’s effort to eradicate Communism from around the globe was a virtual crusade (PBS Report, Julie Wolf). The political situation in Nicaragua was especially galling to him. In 1979, a leftist group called the Sandinistas successfully overthrew an entrenched right-wing dictatorship the US supported. In their efforts, the Sandinistas accepted aid and advisers from both Cuba and the Soviet Union. Even after the Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega, became President of Nicaragua in a fair election, Reagan remained adamant in his opposition.  In 1984, Congress officially cut off U. S. military aid to the Contras (Cohen & Mitchell, 1988).
     In the following year, persuaded by National Security Council (NSC) officials, including Robert McFarlane and Lt. Col. Oliver North, Reagan secretly agreed to send anti-tank missiles and other military equipment to Iran (Bradlee, 1998). McFarlane argued that the sale of arms would not only improve US relations with Iran, but also could lead to improved relationships with Lebanon, thereby increasing US influence throughout the troubled Middle East. The President was also obsessed with securing the release of seven American citizens being held hostage by Iranian terrorists in Lebanon. It was his ‘duty’ to bring those Americans home. When these activities became public knowledge in l986, together disclosure that money obtained from arms sales to Iran was given to the Contras in Nicaragua, the Iran-Contra affair exploded.
     The arms-for-hostages proposal created divisions within the Reagan Administration. Generally speaking, Weinberger and Secretary of State, George Shultz opposed the plan (Congressional Quarterly, 1987, 277). President Reagan, National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, and William Casey, director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supported the plan. Weinberger warned the Administration that such arms sales were in violation of the Boland amendment*.
     President Reagan and his supporters, however, refused to be limited by this legislation and over subsequent months pushed for continuance of the arms sales which would ultimately provide financial resources for the Contras. During this time, Weinberger became an active participant in the discussions and planning of these covert activities. Weinberger was not only involved in numerous White House conferences and planning the arms sales, but he also participated in various briefings by White House officials for congressional leaders as well. The President, himself, contributed to the Administration’s deception. He held a news conference on November 19, 1986 in which he stated that he knew of no arms sales, whatsoever, or that any third country was involved in any arms transfers to Iran (NY Times, 1986, 1). In reality, Reagan failed to disclose that arms shipments had taken place in 1985, and that Israel was involved in transfers, and that he had personally approved of these 1985 shipments. Later, Attorney General Edmund Meese, announced at a press conference that proceeds from Hawk missile sales to Iran, had been diverted to Contras.  However, Meese stated that the President has been unaware of these shipments until some months later (Meese, 1992).
Call to Counsel
     When the above-noted operations were publicly exposed, many high level Reagan Administration officials were potentially implicated in illegal activities. In late November 1986, as a result of the exposure of these operations, Attorney General Edwin Meese III requested the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate, and if necessary, prosecute possible crimes arising from them. The Special Division of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia appointed Lawrence E. Walsh as Independent Counsel on December 19, 1986 (Congressional Quarterly, 1986, 3013-3015).
     Counsel Walsh and his staff immediately committed themselves to dozens of witness interviews and ranging document searches (Walsh, 29 1997). Counsel staff was expanded to over two dozen lawyers, Internal Revenue agents, and FBI personnel. Activities were coordinated with CIA, the FBI, and the Treasury Department personnel. However, pursuit of these activities over the coming months and years, showed that despite extraordinary efforts by those in the Administration, the withholding of records, the need to protect classified information, and grants of immunity to some of the principals involved, Counsel Walsh was able to bring criminal charge against 9 government officials and five private citizens involved in illegal activities growing out of the Iran-Contra affair.
     Evidence obtained by the Independent Counsel established the fact that Iran-Contra was not an aberrational scheme carried out by a ‘cabal of zealots’ on the National Security Council staff, rather it was the result of foreign policy initiatives of President Reagan who skirted the law, and were implemented by the NSC staff, with both knowledge and support of ranking officials in the CIA, State and Defense departments, and to a lesser extent officials in other agencies.
Caspar the Note-Taker
     Counsel Walsh and his staff initially believed that Caspar Weinberger, as an early opponent of the sale of arms to Iran, was no more than peripherally involved in the activities of McFarlane and Oliver North (Walsh, 338-354). Walsh’s main focus was on the latter. However, the Counsel staff became aware of the fact Weinberger had taken notes of numerous meeting in which arms sales to Iran were discussed by Reagan and numerous other officials. When initially contacted as to the availability of these notes, Weinberger conceded that he had taken notes but he downplayed both their importance and number. However, when the Reagan Administration publicly admitted to limited arms sales, Weinberger instructed his staff to cooperate with various Iran-Contra investigators and turn over existing notes and documents.
     Following a lead that Weinberger had not turned over all of his notes, Counsel Walsh interviewed him at length with respect to whether or not other notes existed. Bridling, Weinberger characterized the lead as incorrect and that he did not habitually take notes. He also maintained that it was not his practice to take notes when meeting with the President or other members of the Cabinet to discuss the sales of arms to Iran. To his knowledge none of the participants of these negotiations took notes either. Throughout the interview, Weinberger consistently argued that he was not guilty of withholding any additional notes or information on Iran-Contra.
     Toward the end of the interview, Weinberger consented for the Independent Counsel to review his papers in the Library of Congress. Under close supervision of Weinberger’s staff, lawyers on the Counsel’s intensively and thoroughly investigated both classified briefing materials as well as unclassified materials (Walsh, 342-343). In their search, staffers stumbled upon numerous boxes of Weinberger’s notes that were divided into two sections. The first went from Weinberger’s office at Defense to the Library of Congress without any review for classification. The second set, which came to the Library later, consisted of Weinberger’s notes, with staff notations and had been individually indexed for the official files of Weinberger’s office and reviewed for classification. Most of these were transferred to the Library through the Defense Department’s Correspondence and Directives section.
     The volume and scope of these newly discovered notes required weeks of analyzing and interpretation with respect to the Reagan Administration’s involvement in Iran-Contra. As the analysis proceeded, it became clearer and clearer that Weinberger, for his part, had deliberately lied to the Tower Commission **, to Congress, and to the Independent Counsel’s office. Weinberger, indeed, had known in advance that Reagan approved the entire arms sales plan. The notes provided a day-to-day monitoring of his involvement in Iran-Contra were dramatically at odds with the impression he sought to create through his testimony before the Congress. Throughout 1985 and 1986, he was kept abreast of the illegal arms sales through his contacts with McFarlane and Poindexter, in White House meetings, and in discussions with other foreign policy advisors (Walsh, 344-345). He was also privy to intelligence information from both the State and Defense Departments. He consistently supported the actions of the President to indulge in the arms sales and supported Reagan’s position of not informing the American people as to what his Administration was doing.
     Weinberger’s notes not only expanded the scope of Walsh’s investigation but also served as an explicit guide to Cabinet-level activities in the scandal. He was ultimately indicted in June, 1992, by the Independent Counsel. He was charged with five counts of obstruction, perjury, and making false statements to the Counsel as well as to investigating committees of the Congress. In October, a second indictment was issued charging one false statement, but this was later dismissed. The maximum penalty for each count was five years in prison and $250,000 fines. Weinberger’s trial with respect to these charges was to begin in January 1993, but he was pardoned, however,  by President George Bush along with a number of other indicted conspirators in the Iran-Contra scandal (Iran-Contra Report, summary of prosecution)***.
What Manner of Man?
     In evaluating the legacy of Caspar Weinberger, one must be ambivalent. Certainly in the early stages of his life and political career, he served the nation well. His military service in WWII followed by his entrance into state politics, were characterized by dedication and competence. A Republican party stalwart, he became the consummate ‘Cold Warrior’ as President Reagan’s Secretary of Defense. He presided over that agency’s largest budget in its history. Complementing this situation, he was nonetheless, a zealous economizer. Budget cutting and across-the-board economies by national agencies were an article of faith with him.
     Weinberger’ exemplary public life, however, became increasingly compromised a result of President Reagan’s growing commitment to involve his Administration in an emerging civil war in Nicaragua. Reagan’s efforts to eradicate Communism spanned the globe, but the insurgent Contra’s cause in Nicaragua was particularly dear to him. In the President’s mind, the Contras were the moral equivalent of our nation’s Founding Fathers.
     As a result, a plan was hatched within the Administration to sell weapons to Iran in order to bankroll the Contras. The plan, however, divided the administration with Weinberger leading the opposition. To his credit, Weinberger conveyed to the president personally, his strong opposition, on several occasions. Within the administration, though, deliberate steps were taken to keep the plan alive. Over the succeeding days and months, Oliver North, John Poindexter, and Robert McFarlane continued to push illegal arms sales. Though Weinberger attempted to depict himself as a victim being frozen out of much of the behind-the-scenes negotiations, he nonetheless was briefed by CIA and National Security personnel from time to time as to the progress of the arms sales. Additionally, Weinberger was present at a number of White House meetings where the president was briefed on the extent of arms sales negotiations. Further, Weinberger was not forthcoming in testimony before congressional committees seeking his input with respect to arms sales. Finally, his stonewalling with respect to the notes he took in numerous meetings, where arms sales were discussed, eventually led to his indictment.
     Certainly there are periods in Weinberger’s public life where he served with both dedication and distinction. He held a number of prestigious national offices in the 1970s and ‘80s. But, during the final years of his public tenure, he allowed himself to be compromised by a zealous, crusading administration. Indeed, there was rampant criminal abuse of power, where those in high office pursued their own agendas, which involved both controversial and illegal policies. Institutionally, the latter should have been restricted by existing laws, statutes, and the constitutional system of checks and balances. Weinberger, in his position, though initially protesting the illegal actions noted above, became a willing participant in these covert actions. As a result, his political persona will forever be sullied.

*Tower Commission
A three-member panel appointed by President Reagan, headed by former US senator John Tower, to review the operations of the National Security council and its staff.
**Boland Amendment
Legislation sponsored by Representative Edward P. Boland-Mass. That made illegal any US government activities dealing with arms transfers to rebel guerrillas in El Salvador.
***Individuals indicted and pardoned by President George H. Bush:
Eliot Abrams, former Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs,
Robert McFarlane, former National Security Advisor,
Duane Clarridge, Alan Fiers, Clair George, all former CIA employees,
Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense.Oliver North and William Poindexter, both National Security Council personnel had their indictments and sentences dismissed.

Endnotes
Bradlee, Ben Jr. (1998) Guts and Glory: The Oliver North Story. New York: Donald I. Fine Inc.
Cohen, William S. and George J. Mitchell. (1988) Mean of Zeal: A Candid Inside Story of Iran-Contra Hearings. New York:
       Viking.
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report Index 1970, 1980, 1985, 1986.
Meese, Edwin III. (1992) with Reagan: The Inside Story. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing.
McFarlane, Robert C. (1994) Special Trust. New York: Cadell and Davies.
New York Times Index  1986, 1987.
Walsh, Lawrencer E. (1997) Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Coverup. New York: Norton.