GAO Completes Iran Arms Report, Begins to Trace Diversion of Funds
The director of the General Accounting Office said Wednesday the agency has prepared a classified report tracing arms shipments to Iran, and is beginning to investigate the flow of profits to Nicaraguan contras.
Comptroller General Charles A. Bowsher told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that the arms shipments report was likely to be presented privately next month to congressional investigating committees.
Bowsher told reporters after his testimony that the Iran arms sales report is “pretty much completed.” It deals with “arms that left the Army, to the CIA, to the Middle East,” he said.
Effort Barely Started
However, Bowsher said the GAO’s effort to trace money generated from the arms sale profits has barely started. He noted that FBI investigators for independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh also are probing the money flow.
The GAO, Congress’ investigative arm, conducts governmental audits requested by lawmakers. But Bowsher said the agency’s normal checks had not turned up any clues of the Iran-contra scandal before it became public.
He said the CIA, which provided logistical support for the arms shipments, has traditionally refused all GAO efforts to audit any agency operations.
“When we went out, the CIA said the congressional (intelligence) committees have oversight. We have not done audits out there,” Bowsher said.
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