Bush Pardons Six Iran-Contra Officials on Christmas Eve, Completing Cover-Up

President George H.W. Bush issues sweeping pardons to six Iran-Contra defendants on Christmas Eve, twelve days before former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger’s trial was scheduled to begin. The pardons cover Weinberger, former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, former CIA Central American Task Force Chief Alan Fiers Jr., former CIA Deputy Director for Operations Clair George, and former CIA Counter-Terrorism Chief Duane Clarridge.

Bush justifies the pardons by claiming that Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh’s prosecutions represent the “criminalization of policy differences,” a characterization that obscures the serious crimes involved: lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, perjury, and systematic violation of congressional prohibitions on funding the Contras. The Weinberger pardon is particularly egregious as it marks the first time a President pardons someone in whose trial he might have been called as a witness, since Bush possessed direct knowledge of factual events underlying the case.

Independent counsel Walsh issues a scathing statement declaring that “the Iran-Contra coverup, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed” with the President’s action. Walsh’s prosecutors had obtained Weinberger’s extensive personal notes documenting that Bush, as Vice President, attended crucial meetings about the Iran-Contra scheme and was far more involved than he publicly acknowledged. The pardon prevents these notes from being introduced as evidence in open court, protecting Bush from potential perjury exposure.

The Christmas Eve pardons establish a dangerous precedent for executive impunity, demonstrating that senior officials can violate the law, obstruct congressional investigations, and commit perjury without facing consequences if protected by a sympathetic president. This precedent undermines the rule of law and creates a two-tiered justice system where political elites escape accountability for crimes that would imprison ordinary citizens.