Prosecutor Will Take Over Iran Probe; New NSC Chief : Reagan Vows to Cooperate, Ex-Envoy Gets Security Job

An embattled President Reagan announced today a special prosecutor will investigate the Iran arms- contra aid scandal and named longtime public official Frank Carlucci as his new national security adviser.

Addressing the nation for the fourth time in three weeks to stem a loss of public confidence, Reagan said in a televised address that Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III will relinquish control of the inquiry to a Watergate-style independent counsel.

At the same time, Reagan urged Congress to “consolidate” its own inquiries into the deepest crisis of his presidency, while refraining comment on calls for a special session to hand that mission to a special investigative panel.

Noting that several members of Congress already have suggested creation of a select committee to take over the investigation from nine different House and Senate panels looking into the case, Reagan said, “I support the idea.”

Facts to Be Made Public

“If the investigative processes now set in motion are given an opportunity to work,” he said, “all the facts concerning Iran and the transfer of funds to assist the anti-Sandinista forces will shortly be made public.”

Reagan addressed the nation minutes before Meese held a news conference at the Justice Department to disclose his plans for turning over the investigation of the Iran and Nicaragua operations to an independent counsel, the new name for the job special prosecutor Archibald Cox did in the Watergate investigation.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Reagan seemed to urge patience as a New York Times-CBS News poll showed a record one-month plunge in his approval rating--a reflection of widespread distrust of the secret dealings with Iran and the contras.

Grounds for Investigation

Reagan, vowing again to “get to the bottom of this matter,” said Meese concluded on the basis of a preliminary investigation that there were “reasonable grounds” to pursue an independent criminal investigation.

“With the appointment of an independent counsel,” Reagan said, “we will have in place a dual system for assuring a thorough review of all aspects of this matter.

“If illegal acts were undertaken, those who did so will be brought to justice. If actions in implementing my policy were undertaken without my authorization, knowledge or concurrence, this will be exposed and appropriate corrective steps implemented.”

The criminal investigation will proceed parallel to inquiries by Congress and a top-to-bottom review of National Security Council operations by a special presidential board headed by former Sen. John Tower (R-Tex.).

‘No Area Immune’

Reagan again pledged to cooperate in all of these investigations, insisting “no area” of the NSC staff “will be immune” from scrutiny and asking Congress to pursue its interests “without disrupting the orderly conduct of government.”

The request for an independent counsel will be acted upon by a three-judge panel composed of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Meese, citing the law providing for the establishment of independent counsels, or special prosecutors, said he was “not at liberty to discuss the specific grounds for the application, the statutes that may have been violated” or the individuals involved.

Meese Criticized

Meese has been criticized for conducting the Administration’s preliminary inquiry on his own without the aid of seasoned criminal investigators from his own agency or the FBI. He defended his own conduct, saying that he had conferred with FBI Director William H. Webster on Nov. 21 and said, “We both agreed there was no legal basis to involve the FBI” at that point.

“Remember, this was an inquiry. This was not a criminal case,” Meese said, explaining that his role was to gather facts.

“There was no hint or even any idea of criminality” when he began looking into the secret sale of American weapons to Iran, Meese said.

Fifth in Six Years

Carlucci, 56, who becomes Reagan’s fifth national security adviser in less than six years, replaces Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter, who resigned last week amid disclosures that he had some knowledge of the diversion of profits from Iran arms sales to Nicaraguan rebels.

Carlucci, the recent chairman and chief executive officer of the defunct Sears World Trade Inc., is known to have been favored by CIA Director William J. Casey for the National Security Council post, in part for a shared view of covert operations.

He became a career Foreign Service officer in 1956 and held posts in Africa and Brazil before joining the Nixon Administration, serving as director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, associate director of the Office of Management and Budget and undersecretary of health, education and welfare.

Carlucci served as ambassador to Portugal, returned to Washington to hold the No. 2 position at the CIA during the last half of the Carter Administration and became deputy secretary of defense early in the Reagan Administration. He left that post on Dec. 6, 1982.

Appointment Praised

House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.), called Reagan’s appointment of Carlucci a “splendid idea. . . . I know him to be a man of character . . . and ability.”

The announcements today came as Reagan was under increasing pressure, particularly from both parties on Capitol Hill, to act quickly in the case.

Influential Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on Reagan to fire White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan and CIA chief Casey.

“Clearly the President has not been lying,” Lugar said on NBC-TV’s “Today” show. “He has not been involved personally in difficulties, but he does have an Administration situation that he must remedy and he has to get to the heart of it soon.”

Lugar said the President should review his entire staff and Cabinet, accepting the resignations of those who were involved in the arms sale and diversion of profits to Nicaraguan guerrillas and retaining those who were not. Responding to questions, Lugar said Regan and Casey should resign.

Realted stories, Page 2, 16.