In the End, More Suspicion : With no independent counsel, the Iraqgate case remains covered in doubt

A great scandal of the Reagan Administration was Iran-Contra. A great scandal of the Bush Administration may yet prove to be Iraqgate.

At the heart of both scandals lies not greed but ambition, a proud refusal to accept democratically arrived-at policies as binding at the top.

All Americans wanted the Mideast hostages released, but U.S. policy barred arms trading as a means to that end.

All wanted Iran contained, but U.S. policy barred arms sales to Iran’s rival, Iraq, as a means to that end.

What finally counts is whether or not the people have the final say.

The Ethics in Government Act, by which Congress may petition the attorney general to appoint an independent counsel to investigate suspected wrongdoing by the executive branch, aims to guarantee that the people do have the final say. That law, passed in 1978 but expiring next week, is not perfect, but two items of sharply contrasting news show its key merit.

After a prosecution by independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, ex-CIA official Clair E. George has been convicted of lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra scandal.

After a weeks-long investigation by Atty. Gen. William P. Barr’s appointee, former U.S. District Judge Frederick B. Lacey, Barr has decided not to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the Iraqgate scandal.

Lacey is the executive branch investigating itself; Walsh is not. It’s that simple. The American people can have little doubt that Walsh has looked into every Iran-Contra corner. They can scarcely avoid doubts about Lacey’s thoroughness with Iraqgate.

President-elect Bill Clinton said Thursday in response to a reporter’s question that he will revive the Ethics in Government Act. He also said he will ask his new attorney general for a recommendation on the Iraqgate independent counsel question.

But the public interest and the place of the Bush Administration in history would have been better served had Atty. Gen. Barr appointed an independent counsel. As it is, the nation now has an Iraqgate report that persuaded no one and that served only to fuel the flames of further suspicion.