McFarlane’s Illness Won’t Halt Inquiries

Former National Security Adviser Robert C. McFarlane remained hospitalized in good condition Tuesday at Bethesda Naval Medical Center as police closed their investigation into what they termed an attempted suicide.

Family members and friends remained silent about the events that may have led McFarlane, a key figure in the Administration’s arms sales to Iran, to take 25 to 30 tablets of Valium in the hours before 7 a.m. Monday, the morning he was to testify before a presidential commission exploring the Iran controversy.

Jonda McFarlane, his wife of 27 years, issued a terse statement: “Bud and the children and I appreciate enormously the great love and support that we are getting from friends and strangers alike.”

Inquiry Not Interrupted

Meanwhile, congressional and presidential investigators probing the Iran arms sales said the incapacitation of McFarlane, who helped plan and implement the arms sales, would not interrupt the continuing inquiries.

“It’s not going to affect our timetable,” said Herbert Hetu, spokesman for the Tower Commission, which was appointed by President Reagan to examine the role of the National Security Council in light of the scandal. McFarlane had been scheduled to appear before that panel at 10 a.m. Monday.

Rep. William S. Broomfield (R-Mich.), a member of the House select committee investigating the Iran- contra scandal, said the congressional probes also would not be affected by the incident.

But Broomfield said the already-lengthy duration of the inquiries--which began with the revelations last fall of the secret arms sales to Iran--may have added to the burden on McFarlane in recent weeks.

Political Aims Charged

“I think the pressures got to him--obviously,” said Broomfield. “I don’t think the delay has helped him. . . . This probably contributed to a lot of his problems.” Broomfield has contended that congressional Democrats are dragging out the investigation in part to gain the maximum political advantage from it.

Another Republican lawmaker, Sen. Gordon J. Humphrey of New Hampshire, said McFarlane’s overdose was evidence that congressional Democrats and the media had “gone overboard” in probing the Iran-contra affair.

“The attempted suicide of Bud McFarlane should be an admonition to investigators in Congress and the press to have more regard for the feelings of those whom they are pursuing,” Humphrey said. “Accountability does not include hounding people to their graves.”

Noting published reports that McFarlane had left his family a note explaining his actions, Broomfield, answering a reporter’s question, said it was premature for congressional investigators to contemplate subpoenaing the document. “I have no idea whether it would be of help,” he said.

No Legal Action

A hospital spokesman said there was no indication when McFarlane, a 49-year-old father of three, would be released. Montgomery County, Md., police said that they had closed their investigation after ruling out foul play in the overdose and that no legal action is planned.

The Montgomery County Fire Department on Tuesday released a transcript of Jonda McFarlane’s call for emergency assistance early Monday. The transcript says she told an operator: “He is sort of semi-lucid. He can mumble, but he can’t quite get it.”

She was unable to tell the operator what was wrong with her husband, but said that “he had difficulty sort of moving during the night.”

Leonard Garment, McFarlane’s attorney, said the family was holding up well under the circumstances. “Everybody’s in good shape,” he said, declining to comment otherwise on McFarlane’s status.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said that President Reagan had not tried to contact his former aide but that the President and First Lady Nancy Reagan planned to telephone Jonda McFarlane. He said Reagan would likely call McFarlane “when it is appropriate.”

Maxine Counihan, a family friend who spent much of Monday evening at the hospital with the couple, said Jonda McFarlane had asked her not to discuss the incident.

Back Pain

Before police concluded that the overdose was a suicide attempt, several friends had noted that he had been suffering from back pain and may have been using the prescription tranquilizer as a treatment.

Hetu said McFarlane--one of the few central figures in the arms sale scandal who has cooperated with investigators--had agreed last week to make a second appearance Monday before the Tower Commission to review information that had come to light since he appeared as its leadoff witness Dec. 11.

“I don’t know what’s going on inside the man’s head,” Hetu said. “But the meeting, as far as we were concerned--and when we called him a week ago--was not characterized as a confrontational meeting at all.”

Hetu said the panel still intends to complete its inquiry by the end of next week. Any effort to reschedule McFarlane’s appearance will depend on his condition, Hetu said.

McFarlane’s account of the Iran arms sales in testimony before congressional panels frequently has been at odds with those of other Administration officials. McFarlane--who resigned as national security adviser in December, 1985--has asserted that President Reagan approved in advance a crucial arms shipment by Israel to Iran, contradicting the testimony of White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan.