Shultz Defends Abrams, Rejects Calls for Ouster

Secretary of State George P. Shultz, rejecting congressional calls for the ouster of Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, said in a letter released Friday that Abrams’ departure would be a “severe and unnecessary setback” to U.S. policy in Central America.

Shultz delivered a strong defense of Abrams, who heads the State Department’s Latin American affairs bureau, in a letter he sent in response to an appeal by 129 Democratic congressmen that Abrams resign or be replaced.

Abrams has come under fire on grounds that he deceived Congress in testimony last fall, but Shultz said he is confident that Abrams is “a man of integrity and has had no wish to mislead or deceive the Congress.”

Of particular concern to Congress was Abrams’ testimony of last Nov. 25 when he failed to disclose that he had sought a $10-million contribution from the Sultan of Brunei for the Nicaraguan contras.

‘Absolute Confidentiality’

Shultz said that at the time of the testimony, Brunei had been given a pledge of “absolute confidentiality” concerning the contribution.

He noted that Abrams set the record straight less than two weeks after his testimony. Abrams also has since acknowledged, Shultz said, that he should have declined to answer questions about third-country solicitations instead of giving a misleading answer.

“I want Assistant Secretary Abrams to continue in his position . . . and believe it would be a severe and unnecessary setback to the promotion of our interests in Central America if we were deprived of his vigor and ability,” Shultz wrote.

At issue is whether Abrams’ credibility problems will impair the Reagan Administration’s ability to win its expected request for $125 million in additional aid for the Nicaraguan rebels. The current $100-million allocation expires in three months.