Iran-Contra affair

The Iran–Contra affair, also known as "Irangate Scandal", was a major political scandal of USA during Ronald Reagan administration. This involved secret selling of arms to Iran in violation of international embargo to fund the Contra rebels of Nicaragua. The unraveling of the scandal triggered a series of lies, deceit and subterfuge by top USA leaders.

Quotes

 * The simple truth is, 'I don't remember — period.'
 * Ronald Reagan in testimony to Tower Commission (2 February 1987) as to when he approved the arms sale.


 * I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true. But the facts and the evidence tell me it is not.
 * Ronald Reagan in Television address (4 March 1987)


 * I have paid a price for my silence in terms of your trust and confidence. But I had to wait for the complete story.
 * Ronald Reagan justifying his long silence on the scandal


 * I was provided with additional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version.
 * Oliver North : "Revelations of the North Trial", The New York Review, 17 August 1989


 * I honestly answered every question put to me during the Iran Contra hearings. But if they didn't ask me something, I was not going to reveal things that would put other people in jeopardy.
 * Oliver North : "Revelations of the North Trial", The New York Review, 17 August 1989


 * Let me say to the hostage families : we have not given up, we never will. And I promise to you that we shall use every legitimate means to free your loved ones.
 * Ronald Reagan on the hostage crisis


 * There exists a shadowy Government with its own air force, own navy, own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest free from all checks and balances, and free from the Law itself.
 * Daniel Inouye quoted by Thomas J. Carey in "Inside the Real Area 51 : The Secret History"


 * Reagan survived the Iran Contra scandal because the illegal elements in it were popular, while the popular things were illegal.
 * David Frum quoted in "When Pardons Turn Political", New York Times, 7 June 2007