Tower Commission

views updated

TOWER COMMISSION

TOWER COMMISSION. Appointed by President Ronald Regan in November 1986, the Tower Commission investigated allegations that the administration sold arms to Iran in exchange for U.S. hostages in Lebanon and then diverted money from the arms sales to the Nicaraguan contras, which violated congressional legislation. Headed by former Senator John Tower, the commission also was charged with proposing changes in the National Security Council (NSC) to prevent any such action in the future. Its 1987 report concluded that members of the NSC staff were responsible for the secret diversion of funds and that President Reagan was out of touch with the actions of his own government in the White House.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Koh, Harold Hongju. The National Security Constitution: Sharing Power After the Iran-Contra Affair. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990.

United States. President's Special Review Board. The Tower Commission Report: The Full Text of the President's Special Review Board. New York: Times Books, 1987.

Katy J.Harriger/a. g.

See alsoIran-Contra Affair ; Political Scandals ; Special Prosecutors .