Former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger has been indicted on five felony counts of lying to Congress and to investigators in connection with the Iran-Contra scandal.
Weinberger, 74, was charged Tuesday with concealing extensive personal notes from Congress and the office of Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh reflecting "high-level Reagan administration discussions and secret U.S. arms sales to Iran in 1985 and 1986 and about aid to the Nicaraguan Contras during a ban on U.S. support," Walsh said in a statement.The indictment says Weinberger obstructed Congress, committed perjury and made false statements in 1987 to deceive investigators into thinking he was unaware of the illegal activity, at a time when both Congress and Walsh were trying to determine how far into the Ronald Reagan White House the scandal reached.
Weinberger, Reagan's secretary of defense from 1981 to 1987, is the highest-ranking Reagan administration official and the first member of Reagan's Cabinet indicted in the 51/2-year probe.
If convicted of all counts Weinberger could face a 25-year prison term and $1.25 million fine.
Weinberger said in a brief statement he was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
"This indictment against Cap Weinberger is an absurdity and an outrage," said Malcolm Forbes Jr., in New York. "It is based on laughably flimsy 'evidence.' "
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Wednesday called the indictment "criminalizing policy differences, and to do this to Cap Weinberger, who was one of the people in the administration who fought what they were trying to do - who actually stood up, who actually wore a white hat, who actually tried to do what he should do - two days before the statute of limitations has expired is criminal in and of itself it seems to me."
Appearing on the Fox "Morning News" program, Hatch lashed out at the special prosecutors and warned, "We're going to wreck this country if we keep allowing these politically oriented and politically motivated young prosecutors to run amok without anybody having any control over them."
Deputy Independent Counsel Craig Gillen said Weinberger's indictment "significantly narrowed" the scope of Walsh's investigation but would not rule out further indictments or comment on possible implications for Reagan or President Bush, who was Reagan's vice president.
"I don't want to say we're trying to get closer to President Reagan, " said Gillen. "This indictment is about Caspar Weinberger."