The Cia: See No Evil, Hear No Evil

By Michael Duffy/Washington

Senate scrutiny of Robert Gates had barely begun when an aide handed intelligence-committee chairman David Boren a slip of paper. Its message: all charges against Oliver North, the former White House aide who carried out the Iran-contra affair, had just been dismissed by a federal judge. As Boren read the bulletin aloud, some of the air went out of the long-awaited hearings on Gates' appointment to head the Central Intelligence Agency. The North dismissal, dimming any prospect of further immunity deals for key Iran-contra players, all but ensured that the Senate may never fully learn what Gates knew about the arms-trading scandal.

It was probably inevitable. Four years ago, Senate select committees on Iran-contra granted North limited immunity from prosecution in return for hearing his side of the story. That gave North a large opening: though he was subsequently found guilty of obstructing Congress and mutilating government documents, his attorneys convinced an appeals-court judge that the case should be reviewed "line by line" to ensure that none of the witnesses in his trial had been influenced by the nationally televised hearings. Two weeks ago, North's old boss, former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, stunned prosecutors by admitting that he had indeed been swayed by the retired Marine lieutenant colonel's emotional testimony in the summer of 1987.

Independent counsel Lawrence Walsh then faced a difficult choice. He could either prosecute North all over again or let the matter drop. Walsh chose to write North off and concentrate on prosecuting Clair George, the CIA's former chief of covert operations, who was indicted three weeks ago for lying or obstruction during a series of investigations into the Iran-contra affair. Pronouncing himself "totally exonerated," North declared, "I've had my last hearing."

Many legal experts predicted this outcome four years ago when lawmakers granted North immunity on the ground that the public had a right to know the Iran-contra story. Today even some of those who supported that decision have their doubts about its wisdom. "I think the lesson is that the Congress, when they grant immunity now, must be very cautious," said Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana, "because doing so probably defeats any criminal prosecution."

The North dismissal has implications for other cases. The five guilty verdicts against John Poindexter, McFarlane's successor at the NSC, may be jeopardized by the influence of immunized testimony. The North outcome works in Gates' favor as well. The intelligence committee had discussed granting immunity to George, who worked directly under Gates and allegedly knew more about the diversion to the contras than he has admitted. But members decided against it, fearful of meddling again with Walsh's prosecutions -- even if that meant making a less than fully informed decision about Gates.

Oozing contrition, Gates emerged from the first week of hearings bearing only a few scratches. With a nudge from Republican panel member Warren Rudman of New Hampshire, Gates began his testimony with an unexpected apology for not pressing his old boss at the CIA, the late William Casey, about the Iran- contra operation. "I should have been more skeptical of what I was told," he said in his metallic monotone. "I should have asked more questions, and I should have been less satisfied with the answers I received, especially from Director Casey." Gates also told his inquisitors that the agency had placed too much emphasis on cloak and daggery, and he said covert paramilitary operations should not be undertaken when the public opposes the policy. He even vowed to resign if illegal activity occurred on his watch.

Gates' performance was not unblemished. He admitted to slanting intelligence analysis in at least one case to support the policy of higher-ups. In written answers to the panel, he was repeatedly unable to recall key conversations or documents. Though he had little evidence to support his hunch, former CIA official Alan Fiers said he believed Gates knew of the existence and perhaps the extent of North's network but kept his distance from the operation.

Senators were otherwise unable to puncture Gates' smooth exterior. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, who led the Democratic attack on the nominee, could do little more than sound indignant that Gates had failed to predict the coup attempt in the Soviet Union. Even Ohio Democrat Howard Metzenbaum, who derided Gates as a "hear no evil, see no evil" bureaucrat, believed the nominee would be confirmed.

Throughout the week, Gates fingered a small, oblong white stone in his left pants pocket. An avid hiker, he had picked it up last summer while walking in the Cascades. Having put in 25 years with the agency as of last month, Gates told intimates that the stone provided a comforting reminder of what he could be doing a year from now if the Senate fails to confirm him.

With reporting by Jay Peterzell/Washington