. . . you seem to be off to a good start." She laughed. "Back to your story."
"Not a story. It's a D.C. passion tale. Ollie and Bud--good guys, well-intentioned, patriotic, salt-of-the-earth types. There was a law at the time banning our government from sending money or weapons to the Contra rebels who were battling the communist government in Nicaragua. On the other side of the world, the Iranians and their Hezbollah pals in Lebanon were kidnapping American officials and torturing them to death."
"That last thing, that sounds ugly."
I nodded and continued, "Among others, one hostage was CIA, another a Marine officer. Our official diplomatic response was summed up as--problem too hard, tough shit."
"And how were these two events connected?"
"They weren't. Not until Ollie talked Bud into a plan to kill two birds with one stone. Under the table, we would sell weapons and ammunition from our military stocks to Iran for their war against Iraq. These munitions would be sold at bargain basement prices, the Great Satan's image in Iran would gain a little luster . . . with a sub-rosa understanding that the Iranians would release the hostages. To come full circle, the cash from these arms sales would go straight to the Contras, who would use it to buy arms and supplies to kill more commies. Symmetry, right?"
I looked at her to be sure she understood. Apparently so, because she remarked, "That sounds like a really stupid idea."
"Why?"
"Where do I start? Because you can't trust Iranians, for one thing. And if you think about it, you're offering them an incentive to take more hostages so they can blackmail you for more arms. Because it sounds like you're talking many tons of equipment and hundreds of millions of dollars. Because this means complicated logistics, middlemen, and money-laundering."
"All of the above. Anything else?"
"Those are difficult, maybe impossible, things to disguise or hide. Lots of loose ends, lots of people involved, lots of moving parts that could spring a leak."
"But if it worked, nobody would be the wiser. Our hostages would be saved, and the Contras would kill more commies. What's not to like?"
"It was breaking the law."
"A slight technicality."
"I believe it's called theft of government property and criminal conspiracy. That's a ten-to-twenty technicality."
"Very good." I explained, "And yes, it did leak, and yes, the scandal nearly brought down Reagan's house."
"I'm sorry, does this have something to do with Daniels, Hirschfield, or Tigerman?"
"Bear with me."
"I'm trying." She added, "But you're very trying."
Indeed, I am. I explained, "Ollie and Bud were both very ambitious types, but in their hearts, and in their minds I think, the ends were noble and the means were justified. When they were caught, they were forced to resign. They're still testifying at congressional investigating committees."
"Am I now seeing the connection to Daniels?"
"If you're paying attention . . ."
"Well . . . spell it out for me."
"Bud and Ollie were two fairly average guys, over their heads in very important jobs, in a very complicated and treacherous world."
"I see."
"A lot of other senior officials were implicated, including the Secretaries of Defense and State. Several senior officials were forced to resign. A few were led off in handcuffs."
She shifted around in her seat. "You're implying that perhaps that scandal is a parable or a parallel for this case?"
I said nothing.
"You think this case goes that high? Spreads that wide?"
"I have no idea--yet."
"Then what are you saying?"
"Consider what we just heard from Theresa Daniels about what Cliff has been doing over the past decade, and whom he has been doing it with." I continued, "He may have been operating with permission, or even with orders, from his bosses--and from their bosses--including people in the White House. These things always begin small--like that Watergate security guard performing his nightly rounds and finding a piece of burglar's tape stuck on a door lock. At that moment in time, he had no idea he had the President of the United States by the balls." I looked her in the eye. "We know that Clifford was a subject in an espionage investigation, and we now know that, for many years, he was connected at the hip to two senior Defense officials. My instincts are telling me this is much bigger than just Clifford, and probably much wider."
She replied, "We don't know that he broke any law."
"He did."
"How do you know that?"
I looked at her. "I want to be sure you know what we're getting into."