White House Staff Told to Cooperate in Arms Probe

White House staff members were ordered Friday to cooperate with the Justice Department investigation of the secret operation that channeled money paid by Iran for American weapons into Swiss bank accounts controlled by Nicaraguan rebels, a White House spokesman said.

A memorandum from White House counsel Peter Wallison to all members of the White House staff, including those serving the National Security Council, was “in the process of going out” Friday, spokesman Dan Howard said.

The White House, encountering the worst crisis of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, issued its blanket directive as it faced increasing questions about its credibility, ranging from the reported destruction of key documents to conflicting accounts of the involvement of high-level officials.

“What the President has indicated is (that) the attorney general has a blank check to do whatever is necessary to complete the investigation,” Howard said. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III has ordered the Justice Department to move ahead with its probe, resisting rising demands for the appointment of an independent counsel by congressional critics who maintain that the Administration cannot investigate itself impartially.

While the White House encouraged staff members to cooperate with the investigation, senior officials seeking a replacement for Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter as the President’s assistant for national security affairs appeared to be narrowing their choices to David M. Abshire, the U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and John F. Lehman Jr., the secretary of the Navy.

A senior Administration official speaking on condition that he not be identified said Abshire--whom he called a “non-controversial, stabilizing guy”--is “a likely candidate,” though he and other sources said they do not believe that any final decisions have been made.

Meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee sent Reagan a letter Friday officially notifying the President that it will begin a formal investigation of the entire affair.

Chairman Dave Durenburger (R-Minn.) and Vice Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said the committee will try to determine the “extent of and authorization for U.S. intelligence activities” in connection with the operation.

The panel, leaving open the possibility of subpoenas, will not hesitate to call for questioning any Administration officials, they said. ABC News reported that the committee will open hearings Monday, focusing first on the CIA’s role in the operation.

The House Judiciary Committee’s criminal justice subcommittee sent Meese a report Friday indicating that Administration officials may have broken seven federal laws by funneling the Iranian funds to the Nicaraguan rebels .

No Charges by Panel

The report stressed that the panel was not making any charges of its own and was relying mostly on information contained in news accounts. However, it cited criminal statutes that involve such activities as misuse of public funds, property or records; fraud and false statements, and illegal expenditure of funds for unauthorized purposes.

Panel Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) urged the attorney general to name an independent counsel to investigate the possible violations, saying in a letter: “Your closeness to the President, your prior involvement in approving the arms transfers to Iran, your alleged involvement in planning the private contra aid effort and your statement on Tuesday that ‘every member of the Administration owes it to the President to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him’ create the appearance of a conflict of interest on your part.”

In addition to Poindexter and fired security council aide Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, the report listed by name a number of top-level Administration officials who could face legal scrutiny for possible involvement in the operation. Among them are Meese himself, Vice President George Bush, White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan, CIA Director William J. Casey, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and former national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane.

Notice to Staff

The White House notice told staff members to make all memoranda and telephone logs available not only to the Justice Department, but also to the presidential commission being set up to review National Security Council operations.

When asked whether the memorandum applied to the President, the spokesman was unclear, saying only, “It says all the White House staff.”

The presidential commission, made up of former Sen. John Tower (R-Tex.); Edwin S. Muskie, the former Democratic senator from Maine and former secretary of state, and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to President Gerald R. Ford, is to meet with Reagan on Monday morning at the White House.

Howard said the panel, which is being instructed to study the operations of the National Security Council and its role in carrying out the nation’s foreign policy, would “presumably” examine its past operations to put its proper role into context.

Cleaning Out Desk

Meanwhile, Poindexter was said by Howard to be “cleaning out his desk,” and it is uncertain whether he had returned the pass that admits him to the White House complex.

Poindexter resigned Tuesday as the President’s assistant for national security affairs, and Marine Lt. Col. North was relieved of his duties in the wake of the disclosure that the Iranian funds were being funneled to the anti-Sandinista rebels, who are known as contras, trying to overthrow the government of Nicaragua.

Government sources have said that North destroyed documents in his office at least 36 hours before government agents sealed it Wednesday. On Thursday, it was disclosed that he was placed on a “do-not-admit list” that bars him from entering the White House grounds.

Howard said Poindexter is not on such a list and, thus, still had access to the White House offices. “Col. North was relieved of his duties; his situation is somewhat different from the admiral’s,” the spokesman said.

Poindexter’s possible successor, Abshire, is known to want to return to Washington from his ambassadorial post in Brussels but has been forced to remain there because of a “problem getting a replacement,” the official said. He sought the national security position, or was considered a potential candidate, a year ago when it went to Poindexter.

Confirmation Not Required

Another senior official said the post, which does not require confirmation by the Senate, should be given to someone who is “aloof, respected as a nonpolitical, nonpartisan statesman.”

Abshire is believed to be supported by moderates within the Administration, and Lehman is said to be the favorite of the hard-line conservatives.

“If you’re looking for a conservative, non-controversial, stabilizing guy, Dave would be the one,” one official said. “If you’re looking for a more activist person, familiar with White House operations, Lehman would be the one.”

Lehman, on the other hand, has served on the National Security Council staff, which the President’s assistant for national security affairs directs. In his dogged determination to build the Navy’s fleet to 600 ships, he has entered into many conflicts with Congress.

Howard said he was “sure people are still making suggestions” about candidates for the job. When asked whether the acting national security adviser, Alton G. Keel Jr., would remain in the job until after a presidential commission studying NSC operations completes its probe, Howard said, “My sense is it (the selection of a permanent adviser) will be sooner, rather than later.”

No Official Briefings

Howard made his remarks in an informal conversation with reporters at a Santa Barbara hotel. While Reagan is vacationing at his ranch northwest of here, officials are declining to make formal statements or to hold official briefings, despite the controversy around the Administration.

The President, according to the standard White House notice of his ranch activities, was said to be attending to “routine paper work” and ranch chores.

Chief of Staff Regan, meanwhile, spent time on a golf course and had no plans to visit with the President at the ranch, Howard said. Nor were there any known plans for the informal group of longtime California friends who serve as occasional advisers to the President to meet with him, Howard said.

Regan, who had appeared in a congenial mood when encountered by reporters Thursday, angrily brushed aside their questions on Friday.

The Times reported in Friday’s editions that a source said North has told friends that he personally briefed Regan on the program at its conception or early in its history. On Thursday, Regan denied having been given such reports and, when asked about the matter on Friday, he replied that he had dealt with such questions the day before.