Iran-Contra Affair

Iran-Contra Affair an American political scandal of 1985–86, in which high-ranking members in the administration of President Ronald Reagan arranged for the covert sale of arms to Iran and diverted the profits to fund the anti-Communist contras in Nicaragua. The weapons were sold to the Iranian government in order to obtain the release of American hostages held in Lebanon by pro-Iranian terrorists. The actions of the administration first became publicly known in November 1986. Investigations by a presidentially appointed panel and a joint committee of Congress focused on whether or not Reagan knew about or had authorized the diversion, and whether Congress's constitutional foreign policy and budget prerogatives as well as U.S. laws had been violated. An independent counsel investigated the legality of third-country fund-raising for projects banned by Congress, as well as the obstruction of justice by administration officials. Congress ultimately found that there had been “secrecy, deception, and disdain for the law,” but that President Reagan had not broken the law. Nearly a dozen senior administration officials and private citizens were convicted of crimes, but all convicted U.S. officials and those awaiting trial were pardoned in December 1992 by President George H. Bush.