About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

6 J. Fin. Crime 7 (1998-1999)

handle is hein.journals/jfc6 and id is 1 raw text is: ANALYSIS The Weinberger Pardon: A Blow to American Justice Craig A. Gillen This article addresses the propriety of President George Bush's, 24th December, 1992 pre-trial pardon of former Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, an Iran/Contra defendant. The Christmas Eve pardon effectively termi- nated the investigation and prosecution of federal crimes committed during the Iran/Contra Affair. The Iran/Contra Affair concerned two highly secret policies of the Administration of President Ronald Reagan. The first policy concerned the funding of insurgent activity (Contras) against the Communist regime in Nicaragua from 1984 through 1986, which involved US secret govern- ment support of Contra military and para-military activities despite a prohibition of this support by the United States Congress. The second policy concerned the sale of US weapons to Iran in 1985 and 1986 despite an embargo on such sales and US public policy towards its allies to prohibit such sales. Iranian arms sales were linked to US efforts to obtain the release of Americans -held hostage and then released. Both of these secret policies were coordi- nated by the National Security Counsel Staff, located in the White House complex, principally through the efforts of Lt Col Oliver North. Funds from the Iranian arms sales were ultima- tely diverted to support the secret effort to deploy prohibited military supplies to the Contras. When these secret operations were publicly revealed in November 1986, the linkage of the Iranian arms sales to the prohibited Contra support became known as 'The Iran/Contra Affair'. As a result of the public exposure of these operations, Lawrence E. Walsh was appointed as Independent Counsel on 19th October, 1986. Ultimately, 14 persons were charged with criminal violations. All of the individuals who were tried before a jury were convicted on some or all of the charged offences. On Christmas Eve, 1992, following his defeat for re-election in November 1992, President Bush issued an unprecedented pre-trial pardon to former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger. Weinberger was scheduled to be tried on 5th Jan- uary, 1993, on charges of perjury and false state- ments. This article addresses the propriety of that pardon. It concludes that although the pre-trial pardon was legally within the broad stroke of con- stitutionally mandated Presidential pardon power, it violated public policy regarding the public's interest in full disclosure of underlying facts of the charged offences and diminished public perception of the equal administration ofjustice. CONTRA RE-SUPPLY In 1979, in the throngs of the cold war, a pro- communist Sandinista regime seized power in Nicaragua. The opponents of the Sandinistra regime became known as 'the Contras'. Ultima- tely, a rift developed between President Ronald Reagan's position of strong support for the Con- tras and the glowingly negative view of the Con- tras held by a majority of the Democratic-controlled United States House of Representatives. This Congessional disapproval of Contra activity resulted in the passage of a series of restrictions on US assistance to the Contras which became known as the 'Boland Amendments'.' By May 1984, the National Security Advisor, Robert McFarlane, had convinced Saudi Arabia to contribute $lm per month to the Contra cause (without Congressional knowledge). Later, McFar- lane would testify that President Reagan had instructed him that the National Security Council (NSC) staff had to keep the Contras alive 'body and soul'. McFarlane, in turn, so instructed NSC staffer, Lt Col Oliver North. The NSC, through the efforts of Col North, began secretly coordinat- © Emerald Backfiles 2007

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most