Congressional Committees Investigating The Iran-Contra Affair

The congressional committees investigating the Iran-Contra affair were committees of the United States House of Representatives and of the United States Senate formed in January 1987 to investigate the Iran–Contra affair. The committees held joint hearings and issued a joint report. The hearings ran from 5 May 1987 to 6 August 1987, and the report was published in November, with a dissenting Minority Report signed by six Republican Congressmen and two Republican Senators.

The Committees were constituted in January 1987, and agreed to a deadline for the investigation on the 1st of August, when Congress was due to adjourn, with several more months to prepare the final report. According to a participant in the meetings, the Senate committee decided early on not to pursue the President, not only because he was too old and lacked the mental ability to fully understand what happened, and had too little time left in office, but because the Senators "honestly thought that the country didn't need another Watergate. They were urgently hoping to avoid a crisis."

The hearings ran from 5 May 1987 to 6 August 1987. During the hearings Rep. Henry Hyde defended Oliver North and John Poindexter lying to Congress.

Two protesters entered the proceedings protesting alleged US involvement in funding drug running in Nicaragua. These two were expelled before being handed harsh punishments of a year or more. Oliver North was later handed a three-year suspended prison term, which was later vacated with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The Majority Report concluded that the "NSC staff turned to private parties and third countries to do the Government’s business. Funds denied by Congress were obtained by the Administration from third countries and private citizens. Activities normally conducted by the professional intelligence services—which are accountable to Congress—were turned over to [retired Gen. Richard ] Secord and [Albert] Hakim".