Bipartisan Storm Greets Reagan Remarks on Iran

Congressional leaders today brushed aside President Reagan’s defense of his secret sale of arms to Iran, branding it a “mistake” that may very well have violated the law.

As two congressional committees prepared for closed door sessions with CIA Director William J. Casey, Republican and Democratic leaders used nearly identical terms to criticize the President’s actions.

Reagan met with the House Democratic and GOP leaders at the White House but had nothing further to say publicly following a Wednesday night news conference in which he defended the sales as a “high-risk gamble” that at least gained the release of three American hostages.

‘Error in Judgment’

Reagan’s former national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane, who delivered a planeload of weapons to Iran, issued a statement taking responsibility for “a serious error in judgment” in not realizing that the sale would have a damaging effect on the national interest.

While McFarlane was taking responsibility, Reagan was taking bipartisan criticism from Congress.

“The bottom line is that we should not even have a perception of trading arms for hostages,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.). Dole said the policy was “a mistake”--echoing Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), who declared Reagan “made a mistake and he ought to say so and get this behind him.”

Not a Timely Notice

After meeting with Reagan, House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.) told reporters that the Administration had not complied with several laws requiring that Congress be notified in a “timely” way of major transfers of arms.

“I think the law is unequivocal,” said Wright, who is in line to become House Speaker. “The law commands (a) timely report (to Congress).”

Asked whether the President had been well-advised by Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III to delay informing Congress, Wright said, “If the attorney general says to the President that he doesn’t have to follow the law, that would have been very bad advice indeed.”

House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.), who also attended the White House meeting, was also critical of the decision to send arms to Iran.

Sen. David Durenberger (R-Minn.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the laws permit some information to be withheld from Congress but “nowhere does it say they can use secrecy to withhold an entire operation.”

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) said, “Even very bright people tend, from time to time, to do dumb things. And this was a dumb thing.”

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said Reagan’s news conference explanation “was as distressing as the policy he continues to defend is disastrous.”

“Our commander in chief has demonstrated neither command of the facts and he’s not in command of the process,” Levin said.