Quiet Pursuit

As congressional committees seek to reveal the hidden truths behind the Iran- contra scandal, independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh and his staff have been pursuing their own investigation, all the way into the White House. The interim results are impressive. Two men--Carl R. (Spitz) Channel, a conservative fund-raiser, and Richard R. Miller, a public-relations executive with close ties to the Reagan Administration--have pleaded guilty to weighty charges of conspiracy to defraud the government. And both have named Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, late of the National Security Council staff, as a co-conspirator.

The conspiracy revealed by the convictions involved illegally using a tax-exempt foundation to raise money for weapons purchases for the Nicaraguan contras. Those efforts were earlier praised by President Reagan, who has since said he didn’t know that the donations were intended to buy arms. Congress, during the time that the donations were made, had specifically prohibited giving military aid to the rebels.

Donors were assured that their contributions would be tax deductible even though, prosecutors said in court this week, Miller knew that raising money for such military purposes was “improper.” Now individuals who claimed deductions face possible recovery action from the Internal Revenue Service. The major import of the convictions, though, is that they underscore the officially sanctioned and clearly illegal effort to privatize American foreign policy by a deliberate plan to thwart the will of Congress. Channel and Miller face prison terms and large fines for what they did. Before the investigation is over there is a probability that others will, too.