Reagan ‘Wasn’t Aware’ of Any Cover-Up Effort: White House : Spokesman Defends President, Won’t Comment on Reports About Subordinates

President Reagan’s chief spokesman, confronted with a spate of new disclosures in the steadily unfolding Iran- contra scandal, maintained today that Reagan “certainly wasn’t aware” of any attempt to conceal his role in the arms sale initiative.

Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, questioned about reports that former national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane had conceded taking part in a plan to hide Reagan’s early involvement in the arms sale decision, refused comment to reporters on any attempts by officials, past or present, to minimize Reagan’s role in the evolution of arms sale policy.

Both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times reported today that McFarlane told an investigatory panel Thursday that he and others last November wrote a chronology of the arms sale affair that was deliberately falsified so the President could deny he had given prior approval to an August, 1985, Israeli arms shipment to Iran. (See story on Page 14.)

‘A Kind of a Panic’

“There was a kind of panic,” one source said. “The general atmosphere was, ‘Save the President.’ ”

Asked whether there had been a cover-up, Fitzwater replied:

“No, not as far as the President’s concerned. . . . He certainly wasn’t aware of any.

“Now, what these gentlemen did, in terms of their advice to the President, I don’t have any idea. I speak for the President,” Fitzwater said.

Reagan, questioned earlier this week during a picture-taking session, replied, “No, no, no,” when asked about a possible cover-up.

Secret Data for Iran

The account of McFarlane’s purported testimony to members of the presidentially appointed review panel headed by former Sen. John Tower was not the only embarrassing news of the day.

White House officials were faced with a Washington Post story that computer messages retrieved by the presidential panel investigating the arms sale revealed that Lt. Col. Oliver L. North gave Iran top-secret intelligence information. (See story on Page 14.)

Asked about that story, Fitzwater said:

“The President called for the independent counsel to look into criminal activities, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. If criminal activities have been committed, they will recommend prosecution as appropriate.”

And the Baltimore Sun said the Tower panel will criticize Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger for not being aggressive enough in their opposition to the arms.

Criticism of Shultz

The Sun quoted its source as saying Shultz’s role would be particularly criticized.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, in January, 1986, Reagan signed an order authorizing the CIA to kidnap terrorist suspects abroad and bring them back to the United States to stand trial. That authority has not yet been used to kidnap anyone, the newspaper said.

The order, which had been opposed by some in the CIA and the FBI, came about after the United States tried without success to find the hijackers of a TWA flight, the report said.

Fitzwater’s response:

“That was the story that there was a finding, and I just won’t comment on that intelligence. It’s the policy of the U.S. government to hold terrorists responsible for their actions, and we have demonstrated that policy on numerous occasions, but I won’t comment on any finding, and I will not speculate on any action we might take to hold terrorists responsible.”

At the Justice Department, spokesman Patrick Korten said, “We weren’t involved in anything illegal.”