Violence, Scandal, and the End of the Cold War 299tenant Col onel Oliver North, along with Casey, as the men responsible
for arranging the sale to Iran and diverting the profi ts from the sale to
the rebels fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The com-
mission also criticized Reagan for failing to keep abreast and in control
of what was happening in his administration. A joint House and Sen-
ate report also accused the President of permitting a “cabal of zealots”
to engage in activities that defied the law. Once the scandal became
public, Oliver North systematically shredded all written evidence be-
fore Congress could subpoena the documents.
So fl agrant were these violations that a number of Democratic con-
gressmen demanded the impeachment of the President. But calmer
heads opposed the move. “I have lived through the impeachment of
Nixon,” said Jim Wright, the majority leader in the House of Repre-
sentatives, “and I didn’t want to see that revived in our country again.”
The investigations by Congress produced convincing evidence that
the Reagan administration had “lied to and deceived Congress and the
public, scorned the constitutional rights and responsibilities of Con-
gress in the conduct of foreign policy; [and] abdicated the conduct of
that policy to private, profi t-seeking persons.” But, said Speaker Tip
O’Neill, “we’re not going to go through another impeachment. It’s too
hard on the country. We’re not going to do it.”
Reagan accepted full responsibility for the Iran-Contra affair, de-
claring that he had sent aid to Iran in the hope of improving relations,
not to free hostages in Lebanon. Aides swore that he had not been
informed of the secret arrangements for funneling funds to the Con-
tras. Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Co-
lumbia appointed Lawrence E. Walsh as inde pendent counsel, and his
investigations led to the indictment of fourteen individuals, all of
whom were convicted. Poindexter resigned, North was fired, and both
men were indicted. On May 4 , 1989 , North was convicted of three
felonies, including destroying and falsifying offi cial documents,
though he was acquitted of nine other charges. He was fi ned and put
on probation for two years, but a federal judge overturned the fi ndings
and dismissed the charges. A federal appeals court also threw out the
felony convictions of Poindexter. MacFarlane pleaded guilty to four
counts of illegally withholding evidence from Congress and was sen-
tenced to two years’ probation and a $ 20 , 000 fine. President George