Begging His Pardon

By Jacob V. Lamar Jr

To many of Ronald Reagan's supporters, the Iran-contra scandal is effectively over. By taking responsibility for the Iran-contra diversion, John Poindexter helped save the President, and Oliver North's star performance blurred the moral issues involved. Now some are calling for a conclusive gesture that they hope will close the book on Iranscam: a presidential pardon of Poindexter and North.

The White House denies that Reagan is discussing pardons -- at least now. Pointing out that the hearings are still in progress and that neither Poindexter nor North has been indicted, Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said, "We just don't feel this is the appropriate time to be talking about pardons." A reporter asked Fitzwater if he was "slamming the door" on possible pardons ) should the two men be indicted or convicted. "I'm not touching the door," the spokesman retorted. "I wouldn't go within 40 yards of that door."

Such talk prompted speculation on Capitol Hill that pardons may have been considered in November as part of a deal with Poindexter and North. Congressman Louis Stokes asked Poindexter whether the question had been discussed at a Dec. 16 White House meeting between the President, Edwin Meese and the late CIA director William Casey. "I don't know anything about that," Poindexter replied tersely.

Reagan must bear in mind the Watergate precedent. In 1974, only one month after Richard Nixon's resignation, Gerald Ford pardoned him for all crimes he might have committed during his presidency. Ford's action left a bitter taste with many voters and may have contributed to his narrow loss to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. Reagan, of course, is not a candidate for re-election, but he has become increasingly concerned with his place in history and would not want to be remembered for having weakened the chances of the Republican nominee in 1988.

On the other hand, Reagan has a strong sense of loyalty to those who work for him, and he would be discomfited by the fact that officials who had sought to pursue his policies were languishing in jail. The public seems to agree. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll last week, 61% of Americans believe that Reagan should absolve North before he can be prosecuted and 46% favored a pre-emptive pardon for Poindexter.

Many members of Congress argue that pardoning North and Poindexter would display contempt for the justice system and for the idea that Government officials are accountable to the law. Said Stokes: "The President would make a very serious mistake, and I think it would be resented by the American public." But for the President, perhaps the most persuasive argument against a pardon is that it would compromise the presumption of innocence to which North and Poindexter are entitled under the law. "The best thing that could happen now from Ronald Reagan's standpoint would be indictment and acquittal," says a prominent Republican attorney. "He could then say, 'We were right all along.' " Says Republican Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois, a fervent Reagan ally on the Iranscam committee: "I oppose any presidential pardon until the gates of the prison are about to clang shut." And if Poindexter and North are convicted? "If I were President and they had been % found guilty," says Hyde, "I wouldn't want to leave office with them in jail."

With reporting by Laurence I. Barrett and Hays Gorey/Washington