How Reagan Convinced Himself He Didn’t Sell Arms for Hostages

buying his own baloney

As the Iran-Contra scandal threatened to sink the Reagan administration, the president inhabited an alternate reality of his own making.

Published Jan. 28 2023 11:57PM EST

230128-tuabman-iran-contra-book-hero_qwlt9h — Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images

Shocking news about secret arms-for-hostage deals rocked Washington in late 1986. The first hint came with a White House announcement on November 2, that David Jacobsen, an American held hostage in Lebanon by Iranian-directed Islamic forces, had been released.

Philip Taubman

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How Reagan Convinced Himself He Didn’t Sell Arms for Hostages

As the Iran-Contra scandal threatened to sink the Reagan administration, the president inhabited an alternate reality of his own making.

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Philip Taubman