Boeing Challeges Congress

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by whell

From your link (did you even read it first)?

To this day, Reagan's role in the transactions is not definitively known; it is unclear exactly what Reagan knew and when, and whether the arms sales were motivated by his desire to save the U.S. hostages.

So yes, thank you for that link.

That particular bit of wikipedia text is a non-footnoted conclusion. It therefore does not meet wikipedia's encyclopedia standards for support, and is completely non-authoritative. It's a very thin reed to base a claim of Reagan's innocence, especially considering the footnoted facts that immediately follow in the wikipedia article:

Oliver North wrote that "Ronald Reagan knew of and approved a great deal of what went on with both the Iranian initiative and private efforts on behalf of the contras and he received regular, detailed briefings on both...I have no doubt that he was told about the use of residuals for the Contras, and that he approved it. Enthusiastically."[82] Handwritten notes by Defense Secretary Weinberger indicate that the President was aware of potential hostages transfers with Iran, as well as the sale of Hawk and TOW missiles to what he was told were "moderate elements" within Iran.[8] Notes taken on December 7, 1985, by Weinberger record that Reagan said that "he could answer charges of illegality but he couldn't answer charge [sic] that 'big strong President Reagan passed up a chance to free hostages'".[8] The Republican-written "Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair" concluded, that

There is some question and dispute about precisely the level at which he chose to follow the operation details. There is no doubt, however, ... [that] the President set the US policy towards Nicaragua, with few if any ambiguities, and then left subordinates more or less free to implement it.[83]

Based on the above, the answer to the question 'What did Reagan know?' is 'Plenty.' And the answer to 'When did he know it?' is 'As it happened.'