‘Don’t Distort That’ : Reagan’s Slip: I Don’t Tell All to Congress
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WASHINGTON — In a remark he immediately regretted, President Reagan today said he sometimes doesn’t tell Congress everything it wants to know.
The subject arose when Reagan was asked about his former national security adviser, Robert McFarlane, pleading guilty last week to four misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress.
“He just pleaded guilty to not telling Congress everything it wanted to know. I’ve done that myself,” Reagan said, responding to reporters’ questions during a photo-taking session in the Oval Office with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
He immediately told reporters: “Now don’t distort that. No. I just mean . . . I just think Congress would like to be asking questions about almost anything, anytime.”
Trying to cut off the conversation, Reagan said: “This is in the courts. Let’s wait and determine whether they say the law has been broken.”
As reporters were escorted from the room, Reagan turned to Shamir and said in a whisper:
“Oh, boy. Just for that careless remark . . . they’ll go wild about Reagan wants to lie to Congress or something.”
The remark was picked up by a microphone.
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