John Sarbanes: “I really want to address this suggestion by my colleague from Utah of the double standard and his reference back to…”

“I really want to address this suggestion by my colleague from Utah of the double standard and his reference back to Iran-Contra because, if there is any double standard at work, I think it is very amply demonstrated with respect to this proposal now to extend indefinitely this inquiry. Let me go back into that Iran-Contra matter because my colleague from Utah says, well, if this were a Democratically controlled Congress and a Republican administration, you would really be seeing things differently. Now, in early 1987, when Congress was considering establishing a special committee on Iran-Contra, some Members advocated that it have a long timeframe extending right into the 1988 election. There was a conflict between some Democrats both in the House and Senate who wanted no time limitations placed on the committee and Republican Members who wanted the hearings completed within a matter of a few months. It was pointed out at the time, although it really escaped no one's attention, that an investigation that spilled into 1988 would be very political since that was a Presidential election year. Senator Dole was very strong in his comments about the necessity to have a fixed time for the conduct of that inquiry. Now, that is a Republican administration, a Democratic Congress. This is the double standard issue that my colleague raised.”