To Democrats and supporters of congressional oversight, the Iran-Contra pardons were an enormous blow to Congress’s ability to act as a check on the president and ensure that executive branch officials did not lie to legislators. Executive branch officials had blatantly lied to oversight committees while carrying out an illegal covert operation that involved the clandestine sale of American weaponry, the diversions of millions of dollars in cash, and the violation of a congressional ban on support to the Contras.
