The Nation : Lack of Cooperation Hurts Iran Inquiry

Despite last week’s guilty pleas from former National Security Adviser Robert C. McFarlane, independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh and his staff have been frustrated by a failure to get the cooperation of key witnesses and vital documentation, the Washington Post reported. Walsh’s decision to allow McFarlane to plead guilty to lesser misdemeanors was, in part, dictated by Walsh’s belief that he needed McFarlane to be a witness against Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, retired Rear Adm. John M. Poindexter, the former national security adviser, and others, the paper said. Sources said Walsh’s investigators have not yet gained access to thousands of pages of daily jottings North compiled in 21 notebooks. They were made available to the House and Senate panels as part of a grant of limited immunity to North. Another obstacle is the Israeli government’s refusal to allow Walsh to question its citizens tied to the affair.