The Best of the Bureau/The_Best_of_the_Bureau_Bureau_Development_Inc._1992.iso/dp/0103/01034.txt

Text File | 1992-08-07 | 15KB | 287 lines

$Unique_ID{bob01034}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Iran-Contra Affair: The Report
Chapter 7E   Abrams' Brunei Testimony}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Various}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{abrams
contras
knew
government
money
asked
bradley
committee
congress
brunei}
$Date{1987}
$Log{}
Title:       Iran-Contra Affair: The Report
Author:      Various
Date:        1987

Chapter 7E   Abrams' Brunei Testimony

     In addition to denying any U.S. role in the Hasenfus flight, Elliott
Abrams denied on several occasions that the U.S. Government actions had sought
third-country funding for the Contras.  His statements were made despite his
previous involvement in soliciting funds from the Government of Brunei.  In
testimony before Congressional Committees in late 1986, Abrams repeatedly
deflected questions about the Contras' funding, giving responses which were,
in his word, "misleading."

     In an October 10 open hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Senator Kerry asked Abrams whether Country 2 had provided assistance to the
Resistance.  Abrams replied:  "I think I can say that while I have been
Assistant Secretary, which is about 15 months, we have not received a dime
from a foreign government, not a dime, from any foreign government."  Asked
whether the Contras had received funds, Abrams said:  "I don't know.  But not
that I am aware of and not through us."  He added at the hearing that if the
Contras had approached a foreign government, "I think I would know about it."

     Appearing before the House Intelligence Committee on October 14, 1986,
together with Clair George, Abrams again denied that third countries had aided
the Contras:

     ABRAMS:  "I can only speak on that question for - the last fifteen months
when I have been in this job, and that story about [Country 2], to my
knowledge is false.  I personally cannot tell you about pre-1985, but in
1985-1986, when I have been around, no."

     CHAIRMAN:  "Is it also false with respect to other governments as well?"

     ABRAMS:  "Yes, it is also false."

     Before these Committees, Abrams testified that he did not know about the
Country 2 or Country 3 contributions.  Although he had personally solicited
Brunei, that country's donation had not been received at the time of his
testimony, and therefore he explained it was technically true that the Contras
had not received assistance from Brunei.  Furthermore, Abrams testified that
Brunei had been promised confidentiality, and "I did not believe I was
authorized to . . . reveal that solicitation."

     On November 25, 1986, Abrams testified together with the CIA's C/CATF
before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence shortly after Attorney
General Meese's press conference disclosing the diversion of funds from the
Iran arms sales to the Contras.  He was again asked about reports of
third-country funding:

     BRADLEY:  ". . .  Did either one of you have any knowledge or indication
that the contras were receiving funds from . . . Mid-Eastern sources?"

     ABRAMS:  "No."

     C/CATF:  "No."

     BRADLEY:  "Did either one of you ever discuss the problems of
fundraising -"

     ABRAMS:  "Let me add to that, Senator.  I spoke to Dick Murphy, Assistant
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, probably in the course of the
summer, to ask him if he thought I could raise any money from Middle Eastern
sources.  He was rather discouraging as to whether we would be able to do it,
and so we never tried . . . .

     BRADLEY:  "Now, you did not discuss with anyone else in the Executive
Branch the possibility of receiving funds from . . . any . . . Middle Eastern
source?"

     ABRAMS:  "That's correct.  I never - once I had that conversation with
him, that was the end of it."

     Again, Abrams maintained that this testimony was literally correct
because Brunei was not a Mid-Eastern country.  In his Senate Intelligence
Committee appearance, Abrams was also asked whether he discussed third-country
funding with members of the NSC staff:

     BRADLEY:  "Did either one of you ever discuss the problems of fund
raising by the Contras with members of the NSC staff?"

     ABRAMS:  "Well, yes.  I mean, I think - I can't remember a specific day,
but certainly the question - the fact, which now appears to be slightly
mysterious, that they never had any money, we discussed - you know, it came up
all the time, because they were always running out of everything.  So the
question came up, sure."

     BRADLEY:  ". . .  So let me ask it again.  Did either one of you ever
discuss the problems of fund raising by the Contras with members of the NSC
staff?"

     ABRAMS:  "No, I can't remember."

     BRADLEY:  "Well, you would say gee, they got a lot of problems, they
don't have any money.  Then you would just sit there and say, what are we
going to do?  They don't have any money.  You never said, you know, maybe we
could get the money this way?"

     ABRAMS:  "No.  Other than the conversation I have - other than the Middle
Eastern thing which I recounted to you.  We're not - you know, we're not in
the fundraising business . . . .

     BRADLEY:  "Were you completely ignorant of all fundraising activities by
the Contras?"

     ABRAMS:  "No.  Certainly not in the - I knew for - I mean - I don't think
I knew anything that wasn't - I am trying to think if I knew anything that
wasn't in the newspaper, that is, I knew certainly that Singlaub was raising
money for the Contras.  I knew that others were raising money for the Contras.
I mean, using the Contras in a very general sense.  For example, Friends of
the Americas raises money for medical relief and things like that.  I knew
that was happening.  I didn't know what Singlaub was raising or how or what he
did with it when he got it.  I was, until today, fairly confident that there
was no foreign government contributing to this.  But I knew nothing, still
don't know anything about the mechanisms by which money was transferred from
private groups that have been raising it to the Contras."

     Abrams maintained before the Select Committees that these statements were
"technically correct" because he was asked about "fundraising by the Contras"
and the Brunei solicitation was fundraising by the United States for the
Contras.  However, in his exchange with Senator Bradley, when asked whether he
was ignorant of all fundraising "by the Contras," Abrams did not limit his
responses to his knowledge of fundraising by the Contras.  He specifically
mentioned fundraising for the Contras by John Singlaub and by the group,
Friends of the Americas.

     Finally, in his Senate Select Committee testimony, Abrams distanced the
State Department from Contra-related fundraising.  He stated:  "We don't
engage - I mean the State Department's function in this has not been to raise
money, other than to try to raise it from Congress."

     In his testimony before these Committees, Abrams acknowledged that he
intended to prevent the Members of Congress from learning about the
solicitation of Brunei:

     Q:  In fact, your approach on November 25 . . . was that unless the
Senators asked you exactly the right question, using exactly the right words,
they weren't going to get the right answers.  Wasn't that the approach?

     A:   That is exactly the correct description of what I did on that date.

     Q:  And, as you have said . . . . it would have been a very easy thing to
have stopped the whole shooting match by simply saying Senators you are now
getting into an area that I am not authorized to discuss?

     A:  It would have been relatively easy.  It would have been the right
thing to do . . . .

     Q:  And so unless the Senators knew the facts in advance so they could
frame their question in exactly the right words, they wouldn't find out and
they didn't find out.  Isn't that what happened?

     A:  Correct.  That is exactly what happened.

     Abrams testified that after his November 25 testimony, he realized that
he had "failed to disclose the solicitation