Iran-Contra Report to Be ‘Controversial’

The massive report of the congressional Iran- contra committees will be made public Oct. 28 or 29, and “will be controversial,” Senate panel chairman Daniel K. Inouye said today.

The Senate committee met today for members to review the first draft of the report, most of which is a narrative on how the affair unfolded. A chapter summarizing events is now in its fifth draft, said Inouye (D-Hawaii).

“It’s going to be controversial,” he said. “I don’t know if all of the members will sign on,” an indication that some might choose to file dissenting views.

“Some think it’s not strong enough, others think it’s too strong,” added Sen. Warren B. Rudman (R-N.H.), the panel’s ranking Republican.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said the meeting brought out “major disagreements” over the way the facts had been interpreted and analyzed in the early draft, and other senators said the disagreements seemed based on political differences.

Casey ‘a Primary Actor’

On Monday, the chairman of the panel’s House counterpart, Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.) said he believes that late CIA director William J. Casey was “a primary actor” in the diversion of Iran arms sale money to Nicaragua’s contra rebels.

Inouye said today he would not be surprised if Casey had been in on the diversion, but said that question will not be of primary importance in the committees’ final report.

“We’ll never know, because he’s no longer with us,” Inouye added. Casey died in May of a brain tumor.