European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 1, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday saturday january 1 /2,1993 commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 zealotry always wears an ugly face. The ugliest face around Washington these Days is the ugly face of Lawrence e. Walsh the vindictive special prosecutor in the Case of the Iran Contra affair. This vulture has been deprived of his prey. I. By his courageous action Orr Christmas eve president Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger and five. Others who had been involved Long ago in the trading of arms Tor hostages. The president s decision was a manifestation of Justice at its Best. It was morally right in every Way. Prosecutor Walsh the reincarnation of Victor Hugo a inspector javert is beside himself with anger. Inspector javert you will recall spent his life pursuing Jean Valjean whose crime was to steal a loaf of bread to feed his Sisters starving family. The Story of Les its enables was the stuff of magnificent fiction. Walsh a obsession became the stuff of despicable fact. Weinberger s last minute escape a he was to go on trial Jan. 5 a has infuriated the usual howlers. Anthony Lewis of the new York times is having hysterics. Democratic majority leaders Are venting their rage. On every Side we Are hearing hypocritical cries that the president regards the defendants ask above the 13w.�?� a what rubbish in the midst of the uproar it May not be amiss to focus on the distinction Between Law and Justice. They Are not at All the same thing. In the matter at hand it is far from dear that Weinberger and the others broke any criminal statute at a. The prosecutor has spent $31 million of the taxpayers Money in Pursuit of his obsession and he has come up empty. All that Walsh had left were various vague charges of obstructing Justice and withholding inform then Ali leaves no James j. Kilpatrick is Tion from Congress. At Bottom the charges were never criminal they were entirely political president Reagan said his in k democratic foes had used his presidential Powers in Defiance of Congress. In 1986 be had taken matters Jolo his own hands in an Effort to enlist Iran a help in freeing american hostages held in Lebanon. He had arranged for Israel to sell certain . Missiles to Iran and he had diverted proceeds to the Aid of the Freedom fighters in Nicaragua. T that was the substance of the whole affair. Reagan handled the matter badly. He had his own obsession a he wanted desperately to free the hostages a but he failed to ride Herd on the operation. The late Bill Casey director of the Cia took Over. His associates Rode off in All directions. Through an excess of loyalty the thing got out of and. The Law of 1986 is clouded with doubt. The Boland amendments were civil statutes not criminal statutes. A Given the Complex facts of the Covert affair the arms Export control act May not have applied. In any event the Only substantive offence finally charged to Weinberger is that in responding to questions put to him by congressional investigators he denied having taken certain notes when in fact he had taken them. On this Flimsy accusation far removed from the original uproar Weinberger has been put to a million dollars in Legal expenses. He is 75 years old in poor health. I know him to be. A devoted Public servant whose integrity cannot be successfully challenged. In granting the pardons Bush risked the contumely he is now receiving. He knew he would be accused by the likes of Lawrence Walsh of attempting to cover up _ his own involvement As vice president. To perform an act of compassionate Justice Bush put his own reputation on the line. Bush a reputation will survive. By granting the pardons he sought to close a wound that has festered for nearly seven years. Presidents must act in what they perceive to be the National interest. When Laws Are unclear when lawyers sharply disagree when Justice May be served by decisive action presidents1 must invoke their undoubted Powers. A this was the reasoning of Thomas Jefferson when he approved the Louisiana Purchase nearly 200 years ago. Jefferson Felt uneasily that he might be breaking the Law. A there is a difficulty in the acquisition a he said a which presents a handle to the malcontents among  but he went ahead and did what was right. Malcontents arc still among us. Certain posturing Der fenders of a the Law will always Praise javert and condemn his victim. My own reaction is to condemn Walsh and Praise the president instead. _ _ a. A  creature of Nixon government officials May Vio ate the Law whenever they believe their actions Are Good for the country. That Vas president Bush a principal rationale for pardoning six men involved in the Iran Contra  a they were motivated by a patriotism Bush said. So it did not matter that what they did conflicted with judgments a reached though our constitutional process and written into Law. It did not matter that they covered up their a Lions by lies. Compassion for Caspar w. Weinberger. Would have been an acceptable basis for a Pardon. But Bush deliberately broadened the ground to one that men Ces the institutions of a country whose political system is founded on Law. Bush a reason is the More troubling be Ause the underlying governmental wrongdoing Iran Contra was so serious. It was a calculated assault on the constr Tiona balance of Power far worse than watergate a a coverup of a political burglary. In 1985 and 1986 president Reagan approved the Sale of arms to Iran As a Trade it Vas hoped for american hostages. The sales violated the arms exit Ort control act which forbade arms Lales to countries that Foster terrorism Anthony Lewis As Iran did. _ the president was also obliged by Law to notify Congress of the arms shipments. He did not. A a t then the proceeds of the sales to Iran were used to Arm the contras fighting Nicaragua a sandinista government. Congress in 1984 had forbidden Aid to the Coutras. Reagan s Cia director William j. Casey reportedly used the Iran Contra operations to plan an off the shelf Covert action system free from the legally required scrutiny of congressional intelligence  actions together represented an assertion of absolute presidential Power i foreign policy above the Law. They marked i think the boldest attempt in our history to establish in the White House the Royal prerogative exercised by King George Iii. Critics of the prosecutions brought by the Independent counsel Lawrence e. Walsh say the proper remedy for All this was to impeach Reagan not to go after his  difficulty with that argument is that Reagan and his subordinates carried out their illegalities in secret. It is hard for Congress to consider impeachment when the damning facts have been concealed and the subordinates lie about them when questioned. In watergate the impeachment process pushed president Nixon to resign Only after special prosecutors uncovered the facts. The personality of Reagan also made corrective action Milf cull in the Case of Iran Contra. Members of Congress and of the Public liked Reagan. They Felt in him none of the malevolence that attached to Nixon. And Many wondered whether Reagan really understood what he was doing. Without great Public outrage Over the  affair Walsh was subject to partisan attack. His work was also hobbled by the Justice department which repeatedly raised dubious claims of secrecy to deny him Evi Dence. And the court of Appeal for the District of Columbia dominated by Reagan and Bush appointees made extreme interpretations of the Law to throw out convictions he obtained. The pardons leave Walsh without recourse to undo the Iran Contra cover up. But he still has one Power and duty to _ write a final report laying out what he knows about the coverup a and George Bush a role in it. Gerald Ford was hurl politically by his Pardon of Nixon but his reputation has recovered since i think because poor pie recognize that he was trying honestly of mistakenly to put an episode behind us a without any desire to Warp the Constitution. The Bush pardons arc very different. He used them to introduce a dangerous constitutional doctrine and very Likely to protect himself from the consequences of As repeated false statement that he was out of the Iran Contra Loop. The pardons have about them in fact the distorting self justifying air of Nixon. They remind us that Bush was a creature of Nixon a his appointee to various jobs a defender of Nixon to the last moment of watergate. Bush had hoped to go out in these last Days and in history As a Man of Honor. The pardons a and the reason he gave for diem a end that possibility. C the now Yorito Timos a