Still Fuzzy on Sale, Reagan Writes Panel

On the eve of the Tower Commission report on the scandal that has rocked the Reagan Administration, officials today said the President wrote the commission late last week saying he was still confused over when he authorized the sale of arms to Iran.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater and commission spokesman Herbert Hetu said Reagan’s letter was hand-carried by special counselor David Abshire late last week.

In the letter, Reagan said he honestly could not recall when he authorized the arms shipment and that his testimony on two occasions to the panel may have been influenced by the recollection of others.

‘Outrageous, Nonsense’

Fitzwater dismissed as “outrageous” and “nonsense” any suggestion that Reagan, 76, is losing his memory.

The White House was poised today to receive what advance billing indicates will be a very tough report from the commission, headed by former Texas Sen. John Tower. The panel, which includes former Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie and former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, was not expected to spare any top officials.

“The President has acted entirely appropriately throughout the whole thing,” Fitzwater said in response to a question today. He said Reagan still believes he had the proper policy and was trying to make a breakthrough to moderate elements in Iran who would improve relations with the United States in the post-Khomeini period.

Not a Deception

“He does not believe he broke any laws or deceived the people,” Fitzwater said under questioning.

Fitzwater told reporters it was important for them not to “obscure what happened” by belaboring the dates on which Reagan gave his approval for weapons transactions.

Senate Democratic leader Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, following a meeting with Reagan on competitiveness, was asked about Reagan’s apparently faulty memory.

“The President can’t seem to keep his tale straight. He can’t remember what he said and when he said it,” Byrd said.

Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) said Reagan’s conflicting testimony “is a problem,” not because he did not remember a particular event but because he was “forgetting that he violated his own policy against terrorism. You can’t forget that when he’s had a categorical policy not to deal on hostage takers, not to deal with terrorism . . . I don’t see how he forgot that.”