Which of the following was NOT true of the Iran-Contra Affair?

Question

A) When asked about the program, President Reagan claimed not to remember anything about it.

 

B) The American government used funds unethically attained to aid Nicaraguan “freedom fighters.”

 

C) Congress colluded with the president to secretly fund the Contras

Answer 1

Option A is true, so we can rule it out as the answer. Reagan did deny knowledge of the event, but some historians still debate the extent to which that was due to willful ignorance or a president who did not have control over his staff.

Option B is also true, so we can rule it out as the answer. Money given to the Contras was the profit of a weapons sale to Iran (during the Iran-Iraq War) in exchange for assistance in freeing American hostages.

Option C is not true and is therefore the correct answer. Reagan and his administration were investigated for their funding of the Contras in what is known as the "Iran-Contra Affair" which was illegal because it went around the authority of Congress to determine the federal budget. It also violated the Boland Amendment, which specifically prohibited the federal government from giving any type of military support (funding, weapons, etc.) to groups attempting to overthrow the Nicaraguan government (which the Contras were attempting to do).