Reagan Lecture Summary
Ronald Reagan's Scandals
Other Scandals of the Reagan Administration
Campaign Debate Book Theft: Reagan's campaign allegedly stole the debate book from the Carter campaign.
HUD Corruption: The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was indicted (but not convicted) for accepting bribes.
WebTech Praise: Reagan publicly praised WebTech, a sham company that received defense contracts, shortly before it failed.
EPA Sweetheart Deals: EPA director Anne Gorsuch Burford (mother of a future Supreme Court Justice) allegedly gave sweetheart deals to companies with Republican connections.
Secretary of the Interior Bigotry: The Secretary of the Interior made bigoted remarks, eventually leading to his resignation.
Secretary of Labor Indictment: Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan was indicted for defrauding the New York transit system.
Lobbying Violations and Insider Trading: Lobbying violations involved two advisors, and insider trading/financial irregularities involved the National Security Advisor, Attorney General, and CIA director, with suspect stock sales.
October Surprise
Background:
1979: Iranian Revolution begins.
Iranian students storm the American embassy in Tehran and take hostages.
By the election of 1980, hostages had been held for over a year.
They were released immediately after Reagan took office (after 444 days of captivity).
Conspiracy Theory: Reagan kept the hostages in Iran to prevent Carter from securing their release and winning the election.
Timeline Note: Carter announced the hostages' impending release the night before Reagan's inauguration, but they were not released until Reagan was sworn in.
Initial Theory:
George H.W. Bush and William Casey (campaign chairman, later CIA director) flew to Paris on 10/19/1980.
They conducted secret negotiations with Iranian officials to ensure Reagan's victory by preventing the hostage release.
H.W. Bush allegedly promised in future arms shipments.
Evidence:
Abolhassan Banisadr (President of Iran, 1980-1981) stated that he had struck a deal with Reagan to delay the release.
Arms dealer Ari Ben-Menashe reported his role to Time Magazine before Iran-Contra became public.
Barbara Honneger (Hoover Institute) claimed to have overheard a conversation in 1980, documented in her books.
Richard Brennecke, a pilot/businessman, claimed to have information (though his credibility was questioned).
Holes in the Initial Theory: Secret Service logs indicated H.W. Bush did not leave the country in October 1980.
House October Surprise Task Force (1992):
Led by Hamilton Lee.
Conducted over 230 interviews.
Analyzed thousands of documents.
Report stated there was virtually no credible evidence to support the accusations.
Additional Information (Post-House Report):
1991: New York Times reported the Reagan administration went back on its promise not to sell weapons to Iran immediately after being elected.
The U.S. authorized Israel to sell American-made arms to Iran for 6-18 months.
Major General Abraham Tamir (Israeli defense official) reported those sales totaled billions of dollars.
AP reporter Robert Parry claimed he saw a classified report which confirmed meetings between William Casey and Iranians, corroborated by the Russians.
White House counsel Chester Paul Beach wrote that he had seen a cable indicating Bill Casey was in Madrid for unknown purposes.
A 2017 declassified CIA memo stated that Ayatollah Khomeini wanted to exploit the hostage issue to defeat Carter.
2023: Ben Barnes reported that John Connolly went to the Middle East to tell everyone that Reagan will give them a better deal if the hostages aren't released before the election.
Iran-Contra Affair
Reagan's Anti-Communism: Reagan believed Nixon and Carter had hurt the Cold War effort.
Nicaragua:
Reagan demonized Nicaragua early in his presidency.
1978: Sandinistas overthrew Anastasio Somoza Garcia (who had taken over for his brother whom had taken over for his father).
His father was dictator for 42 years.
Garcia known for supressing opposition parties.
Garcia was known saying he didn't want an educated population; he wanted oxen.
Garcia controlled a coampny that collected blood plasma from poor people and sold it in the US and Europe.
Garcia stole money, blood and plasma during the 1972 earthquake.
The Sandinistas were considered communist (although they were more socialist).
Contras:
Right-wing organization in Honduras.
December 1981: Reagan made the Contras the highest foreign policy issue in the Western Hemisphere.
He authorized the CIA (headed by William Casey) to conduct political and paramilitary operations.
Reagan lied to Congress saying he was requesting funds to keep arms out of Central America, when he was using them to push arms into the Contras.
Boland Amendment:
Passed in December 1982.
Barred the CIA and Department of Defense from spending funds to overthrow the Sandinista government or promote conflict between Nicaragua and Honduras where, of course, the Contras were.
Contras were trained by the CIA to attack soft targets.
The CIA blew up oil refineries, pipelines, and mined harbors where ships would come in with supplies.
The Contras publicly killed doctors, judges, and nurses.
The CIA encouraged the Contras to gather people in towns, publicly execute someone, and say, hey. This is what happens to people who support the Sandinistas.
Casey Accord: During closed door session of William Casey testyfying what the CIA was doing to Nicaragua before the Senate Intelligence Committee, it led to an agreement between the director and the committee that before any future covert operations, Casey would get prior do prior consultation with the senate and the senate intelligence committee before any would happen.
The second Boland Amendment expanded to forbid US intelligence agencies from furnishing any lethal aid to the Contras.
NSC Involvement: The National Security Council (NSC) took over from the CIA and DOD to circumvent the Boland Amendment.
Oliver North was put in charge of the Contra operation.
The National Security Council had taken over from the CIA and the DOD.
The NSC exists to help the president coordinate various activities in a coherent agencies.
foreign agencies secretary of state, CIA, military intelligence, military department of defense, all of these things into a coherent foreign policy.
NSC staff is borrowed from other agencies.
The Enterprise:
Casey and North set up complex operations to raise money for the Contras.
Richards Secord and Albert Hakim assisted.
Carre Chanel established a national endowment for preservation of liberty, raising $48,000,000.
Only a quarter of the money was used for weapons.
An airstrip in Costa Rica was built.
Oliver North manipulated the State Department to provide support that spied on the Sandinista.
Lying to Congress Members of Congress asked McFarland if the rumors were true, and he lied every time.
Turning It Up To Eleven: Reagan wins reelection, and the Enterprise groups says, hey. We're we're on top of the world right now. Big reelection win. Nobody can stop us. Let's turn this shit up to eleven.
Lebanon was engaged in a civil war at the time.
Various groups connecting to Hezbollah, were kidnapping American, French, British, Swiss, West German, and Irish citizens.
The group, the Hezbollah, suggested that it could broker a deal with the Iranians to release the seven hostages held by in Lebanon by Iranian terrorists.
The Arms for Hostages Deal: David Kimchi, the Israel foreign minister official and intelligence officer, met with McFarlane to discuss the arms for hostages deal.
Kimchi, engaged the Iranian, Manchur. known to be an untrustworthy schemer by the CIA and CIA agents told North and others, including apparently William Casey, not to not to mess with him.
Manjur had connections to a friend and intelligence analyst, Roy Furnark, who was William Casey's friend, who apparently vouched for him.
Mid September 1985, reverend Benjamin Weir was released.
The Reagan administration had given Manuker 500, TOW missiles to guarantee the release of all the hostages.
Then they send him, Hawk anti aircraft missiles.It's unclear of exactly what they sent them. They might have just been the missiles and not the whole missile launching system.
George ShultzSecretary of state George Shultz and secretary of defense Casper Weinberger heard rumors of, the swap of with Israel and Iran and told Reagan to refrain from further tactics along this line.
Reagan continued to ignore their advice.
He authorized a plan. He will say he did not believe he was negotiating with terrorists.
Israelwas now cut out as the middleman.
North diverted the profit of the weapon sales into the counter accounts.
McFarlane McFarlane does step aside at the NSC and is replaced by admiral John Poindexter, but he still is involved in all of this. He just does it now, apparently, as a contractor.
Iran's Moderates McFarlane traveled to Iran twice in 1986, and met with Manuker.
He tried to get the release of the four main remaining hostages and brought him a bible signed by Ronald Reagan.
Iran kept upping the deal. The Reagan administration is like, no. We'll just give you weapons. And they keep sending them weapons.
Additional Arms In '19 in August 20, we get the, the order, of, nearly a 100 anti tank and missiles, send them more before they released, reverend Benjamin Weir a day after 09/05/1985.
11/24/1985, we send the Hawk missiles over. All the while, though, all the while this is happening, in October and November of nineteen eighty six, three other hostages were grabbed.
Frank Reed, Joseph Scipio, and Edward Tracy are all grabbed and taken hostage.
One came out and another went in. They kept getting them because the hey. You take a hostage. I get a bunch of missiles. I'm just gonna keep grabbing hostages.
Fighting Iraq: Iran, of course, wanted these weapons to fight the American supplied Iraq that they were now at war with. Iraq invaded, Iran in September of nineteen eighty, and The United States had been providing them oftentimes through Israel weapons for the war.
Sinking Of US Warship: During the war in 1987, Iraqis attack and successfully sink a US warship with the with an anti ship missile.
Civilian Aircraft Shot Down: The US also shot down a civilian aircraft and killed 290 people on board. The United States claimed that they thought it was an f 14 Tomcat and that the ship that shot down the plane fired from international waters.
Back to Nicaragua
Plane Shot Down: A c one twenty three cargo plane loaded with weapons and other supplies was shut down on 10/05/1986.
The photo of Hassam Frosse was released.
Reagan's Statement Reagan says, no. Not a guy. I don't know what he's doing. It's not ours.
Mendy Hasimi ReportNovember 3, Mendi Hashimi told the story of Iran in America in, in the Lebanese, Ash Shashara magazine about the trade for weapons for hostages.
Reagan's Speech Reagan goes on TV and states, we did not repeat we did not repeat we or did not trade weapons for any or anything else for hostages nor will we.
The Cover Up
Shredding Parties: Attorney general Edwin Meese tries to hammer out a coherent story from a pile of lies and half truths and they had shredding parties.
Memo Found: November 22, nine days after Reagan's speech, the Department of Justice discovers a memo in the NSC files that indicate funds from the sale of the arms to the Iranians wouldn't be used to fund the Contras, and this here is where Iran Contra comes from. Becausw now there's a clear connection.
**Special Review Committee. ** A special review committee, is set up. Reagan appoints, a special review committee December Hearth, headed by former senator John Tower and becomes known as the Tower Commission.
They do criticize in their report, Reagan for his careless managerial style and complete lack of knowledge on policy detail. They more specifically indicate North and Poindexter as well as others like McFarland.
Lawrence Walsh gets appointed as independent counsel.
Congress Investigation: The good news was is the congress started a joint, committee hearing in January 1987. Democrats had a majority in both chambers and therefore had the majority across the joint commission, committee.
The investigation was supposed to ramp up in August.
The really dumb thing the house did was they gave Oliver North and John Poindexter immunity.
Fault The Report from the majority said that the NSC staff use private parties in other countries to do the government business, which was bad. The minority said it was all the fault of the Democrats that because they were unclear in stopping money from going into the Contras, the Reagan administration thought that they could still do that, so it was the democrats' fault.
Five Days Later Five days later, Reagan addresses the nation and had to admit what happened.
Reagan Responds, With a Lie I let my personal concern for the hostages spill over into the geopolitical strategy of reaching out to Iran. I asked so many questions about the hostages' welfare that I didn't ask enough about the specifics of the total Iran plan.
Impeachment A day later, rep Henry b Gonzalez of Texas introduces, h r one eleven with six articles of impeachment against, Reagan and regarding the controls, including obstruction and all of the those good old top hits. Gets sent to the judiciary committee. Nothing gets nothing happens.
ConvictionsThe special prosecutor still still doing stuff, though. His investigation, leads to 13 people to be indicted. Amongst them, the those that we have talked about
**Bush Pardons. *** Most others were pardoned by h w Bush on the last day in one of his last days in office, Christmas Eve nineteen ninety two, after having lost to Bill Clinton in the ninety two election.
Former Presidents George w Bush had long been under suspicion that he had also been involved in it. He was briefed on the sale of the weapons in 1986. That was a known fact. The special prosecutor Walsh wanted to get his diary. HW routinely attempted to block it, though part of it was released in November or sorry, in 1993. And in it, of the things that they released so not all of it.
Reagan's Violation Of Trust
It is clear that both instances happen that they were led by high ranking Republican, members of the administration, including William Casey on both accounts.
It is clear that there at least at times, Reagan knew of things that happened and was participating in them, including signing a bible and sending it to the person that they were using as the middleman in the arms deal.