Before the Whitewater investigation thrust the role of the Independent Counsel into the spotlight of American politics, another, perhaps more sordid, scandal that began in the fall of 1986 scarred the administration of a president some compared in charisma to John F. Kennedy.
President Ronald Reagan and his high-ranking officials -- including Assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams -- violated laws in what came to be known as the Iran-Contra Affair.
Abrams, who was in the center of the international relations debacle, said his years under Reagan were "wonderful," despite the problems. In an interview with The Dartmouth yesterday, he was markedly vague about the issue at times.
"Iran-Contra was something else done by others outside and afterwards, actually," Abrams told The Dartmouth.
Abrams, Reagan and other adminstrators faced investigations when, in October and November 1986, two secret U.S. government operations were exposed.
First, the United States contributed to the military activities of the Nicaraguan contra rebels during the October 1984 to October 1986 prohibition on such aid. Secondly, the United States, under the direction of Reagan Administration officials and the National Security Council, covertly sold arms to Iran in direct violation of U.S. policy and likely violation of arms-export controls. Also, some of the proceeds of these sales were diverted to the contras in Nicaragua.
The crux of Abrams' involvement with the affair was his testimony to Congress during the ensuing investigation by the Independent Counsel concerning money contributed to the rebel effort in Nicaragua.
At the age of 38, Abrams secretly, though not illegally, negotiated with the country of Brunei to obtain funds that would eventually be used to support the contras. The Sultan of Brunei complied and pledged a certain amount of money.
"This was the most secret thing I'd ever been involved with in the State Department," Abrams told The Dartmouth. "Five people knew in the whole U.S. government."
Before the funds were actually sent from Brunei, the scandal was exposed, and Abrams went before the Senate Intelligence Committee: "I'm asked, 'Has any foreign government given money to the contras?'" Abrams recalled.
"And I said, 'No.'" he continued. "Now they hadn't given, if they had asked, 'Has anybody pledged?' I would have had to say yes."
Abrams knew he was in a sticky situation so he went to his superior, Secretary of State George Schultz and explained the predicament. They decided Abrams should brief the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee about the Brunei pledge.
"This was going to be a one-on-one meeting with the Chairman, and [Schultz] said, ... 'Don't tell him which country,'" Abrams said emphatically. "This is just to tell you how secret this all was," Abrams said.
Fast forward to the actual in-depth prosecution in 1991 which gave Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh authority to scrutinize those he found questionable.
"Now we're in the middle of Iran-Contra, and Walsh wants to prosecute me for withholding information from Congress because I didn't, in that testimony, tell them [about Brunei]," Abrams said.
"I suppose in retrospect I should have said, 'I'm not at liberty to discuss this subject in any way shape or form,'" he recounted. "Not a very good answer because it tells them 'Aha! Something's up.' You don't want to do that either."
Abrams said he thinks the prosecution should have been dealt with it differently. He believed he should have been reprimanded, and Schultz should have been forced to testify with him.
"To come back five years and say, 'I have an idea. Why don't we try to send Abrams to jail?' because of that piece of testimony -- this is not the way the U.S government should be run," Abrams affirmed.
In his book, "Undue Process," which was published shortly after the Iran-Contra prosecution unfolded,
Abrams iterated his belief that the role of the Independent Counsel should be eliminated, but few took notice.
"It's gratifying to find now Democrats coming to this same conclusion," he said in reference to the Whitewater scandal that made Independent Counsel Ken Starr an infamous household name and brought much criticism to his role in the Clinton impeachment investigation.
Abrams eventually pleaded guilty to withholding information from Congress, though he seemed to feel no remorse for what he did.
"It is fair to say I withheld information ... Now I would say we always withhold some information, and we shouldn't criminalize it," he said.
"I withheld the fact that I had asked [Brunei for money] and that they had, in principle, said yes," he continued. "That I can in good conscience plead guilty to."
"The judge [hearing Abram's case], in essence, took my view of it, I think," Abrams said, noting that his only penance was a fifty dollar fine.
After the Iran-Contra Affair, Abrams took some time away from the political arena. But now he's back in the game: overseeing, as President, the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and chairing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom which requires him to appear before Congress on a regular basis.
The commission recently lead a charge to stop U.S. dealing with China for human rights violations, although it ultimately failed. It is also currently involved with religious freedom in Sudan, and other countries such as India and Pakistan will enter the commission's focus as well in the near future.
Abrams gave a speech yesterday on the use of "God" in American Culture with reference to his latest book, "Faith or Fear: How Jews Can Survive in a Christian America."
