December 24th, 1992
6518
GEORGE BUSH -- The President
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Today I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon former
Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and others for their conduct related
to the Iran-Contra affair.
For more than 6 years now, the American people have invested enormous
resources into what has become the most thoroughly investigated matter of its
kind in our history. During that time, the last American hostage has come
home to freedom, worldwide terrorism has declined, the people of Nicaragua
have elected a democratic government, and the Cold War has ended in victory
for the American people and the cause of freedom we championed.
In the mid 1980's, however, the outcome of these struggles was far from
clear. Some of the best and most dedicated of our countrymen were called upon
to step forward. Secretary Weinberger was among the foremost.
Caspar Weinberger is a true American patriot. He has rendered long and
extraordinary service to our country. He served for 4 years in the Army
during World War II where his bravery earned him a Bronze Star. He gave up a
lucrative career in private life to accept a series of public positions in
the late 1960's and 1970's, including Chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare. Caspar Weinberger served in all these
positions with distinction and was admired as a public servant above
reproach.
He saved his best for last. As Secretary of Defense throughout most of the
Reagan Presidency, Caspar Weinberger was one of the principal architects of
the downfall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union. He directed the
military renaissance in this country that led to the breakup of the communist
bloc and a new birth of freedom and democracy. Upon his resignation in 1987,
Caspar Weinberger was awarded the highest civilian medal our Nation can
bestow on one of its citizens, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Secretary Weinberger's legacy will endure beyond the ending of the Cold War.
The military readiness of this Nation that he in large measure created could
not have been better displayed than it was 2 years ago in the Persian Gulf
and today in Somalia.
As Secretary Weinberger's pardon request noted, it is a bitter irony that on
the day the first charges against Secretary Weinberger were filed, Russian
President Boris Yeltsin arrived in the United States to celebrate the end of
the Cold War. I am pardoning him not just out of compassion or to spare a
75-year-old patriot the torment of lengthy and costly legal proceedings, but
to make it possible for him to receive the honor he deserves for his
extraordinary service to our country.
Moreover, on a somewhat more personal note, I cannot ignore the debilitating
illnesses faced by Caspar Weinberger and his wife. When he resigned as
Secretary of Defense, it was because of his wife's cancer. In the years since
he left public service, her condition has not improved. In addition, since
that time, he also has become ill. Nevertheless, Caspar Weinberger has been a
pillar of strength for his wife; this pardon will enable him to be by her
side undistracted by the ordeal of a costly and arduous trial.
I have also decided to pardon five other individuals for their conduct
related to the Iran-Contra affair: Elliott Abrams, Duane Clarridge, Alan
Fiers, Clair George, and Robert McFarlane. First, the common denominator of
their motivation -- whether their actions were right or wrong -- was
patriotism. Second, they did not profit or seek to profit from their conduct.
Third, each has a record of long and distinguished service to this country.
And finally, all five have already paid a price -- in depleted savings, lost
careers, anguished families -- grossly disproportionate to any misdeeds or
errors of judgment they may have committed.
The prosecutions of the individuals I am pardoning represent what I believe
is a profoundly troubling development in the political and legal climate of
our country: the criminalization of policy differences. These differences
should be addressed in the political arena, without the Damocles sword of
criminality hanging over the heads of some of the combatants. The proper
target is the President, not his subordinates; the proper forum is the voting
booth, not the courtroom.
In recent years, the use of criminal processes in policy disputes has become
all too common. It is my hope that the action I am taking today will begin to
restore these disputes to the battleground where they properly belong.
In addition, the actions of the men I am pardoning took place within the
larger Cold War struggle. At home, we had a long, sometimes heated debate
about how that struggle should be waged. Now the Cold War is over. When
earlier wars have ended, Presidents have historically used their power to
pardon to put bitterness behind us and look to the future. This healing
tradition reaches at least from James Madison's pardon of Lafitte's pirates
after the War of 1812, to Andrew Johnson's pardon of soldiers who had fought
for the Confederacy, to Harry Truman's and Jimmy Carter's pardons of those
who violated the Selective Service laws in World War II and Vietnam.
In many cases, the offenses pardoned by these Presidents were at least as
serious as those I am pardoning today. The actions of those pardoned and the
decisions to pardon them raised important issues of conscience, the rule of
law, and the relationship under our Constitution between the government and
the governed. Notwithstanding the seriousness of these issues and the
passions they aroused, my predecessors acted because it was time for the
country to move on. Today I do the same.
Some may argue that this decision will prevent full disclosure of some new
key fact to the American people. That is not true. This matter has been
investigated exhaustively. The Tower Board, the Joint Congressional Committee
charged with investigating the Iran-Contra affair, and the Independent
Counsel have looked into every aspect of this matter. The Tower Board
interviewed more than 80 people and reviewed thousands of documents. The
Joint Congressional Committee interviewed more than 500 people and reviewed
more than 300,000 pages of material. Lengthy committee hearings were held and
broadcast on national television to millions of Americans. And as I have
noted, the Independent Counsel investigation has gone on for more than 6
years, and it has cost more than $31 million.
Moreover, the Independent Counsel stated last September that he had completed
the active phase of his investigation. He will have the opportunity to place
his full assessment of the facts in the public record when he submits his
final report. While no impartial person has seriously suggested that my own
role in this matter is legally questionable, I have further requested that
the Independent Counsel provide me with a copy of my sworn testimony to his
office, which I am prepared to release immediately. And I understand
Secretary Weinberger has requested the release of all of his notes pertaining
to the Iran-Contra matter.
For more than 30 years in public service, I have tried to follow three
precepts: honor, decency, and fairness. I know, from all those years of
service, that the American people believe in fairness and fair play. In
granting these pardons today, I am doing what I believe honor, decency, and
fairness require.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America,
pursuant to my powers under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, do
hereby grant a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to Elliott Abrams,
Duane R. Clarridge, Alan Fiers, Clair George, Robert C. McFarlane, and Caspar
W. Weinberger for all offenses charged or prosecuted by Independent Counsel
Lawrence E. Walsh or other member of his office, or committed by these
individuals and within the jurisdiction of that office.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of
December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth.
GEORGE BUSH