Off The Hook . . . for Now

The signals have suggested otherwise. Former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who will stand trial early next year on perjury charges, strongly implied that special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh had offered to reduce charges against him if he would help finger Ronald Reagan. Clair George, formerly the CIA deputy director for operations, who is now on trial for perjury, received a similar offer to name names right to the top. Oliver North, once Reagan's most adoring acolyte, proclaimed his own unclouded version of the former President's involvement in the Iran-contra scandal in his memoirs: "President Reagan knew everything."

And yet the special prosecutor ended his pursuit last week -- at least for the moment. Responding to reports that he was about to indict Reagan, Walsh sent a letter to the former President reassuring him that he was neither a subject nor a target of the investigation. These legal terms mean that while Reagan may have information of interest to the investigation, he is not likely to be indicted. Former White House chief of staff Donald Regan received a similar letter, but Walsh was reportedly turning his sights on former Attorney General Edwin Meese, who, according to some accounts, masterminded the cover- up.