Panel Quizzes McFarlane in Hospital Room
The Tower Commission probing the Iran- contra scandal went to Robert C. McFarlane’s hospital bedside today to try to sort out conflicting accounts of when President Reagan approved the first sale of U.S. arms to Iran.
The commission’s chore was compounded by reports that Reagan switched his version of the story, initially telling the special board he approved the sale beforehand, then retracting that account and saying the sale was authorized after the fact. (Story on Page 10.)
The panel spent more than 3 1/2 hours at Bethesda Naval Hospital, where former White House aide McFarlane is recuperating from a suicide attempt Feb. 9.
Panelists Silent
The members, former Sen. John Tower (R-Tex.), former Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie and Brent Scowcroft, President Gerald R. Ford’s national security adviser, declined to answer questions as they left the hospital.
McFarlane--Reagan’s national security aide when the Iran project began in the summer of 1985--has been locked in a conflict with White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan over when the President approved the first sale of American arms to Iran. The weapons were delivered from Israeli stockpiles.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
