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I'm Lindsey Graham and this is American Scandal.

Today we wrap up our series on Iran Contra, a scandal that began in the dark alleys of Beirut and the jungles of Nicaragua,

converged in the basement of the White House and was finally revealed to the public by the president himself from the Oval Office.

And for over six years beginning in 1986, this scandal was under investigation by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh and his team.

Today we'll be speaking to one of the prosecutors on that team, Michael Bromwich.

As Associate Counsel in the Office of the Independent Counsel for the Iran Contra investigation, he worked alongside special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh from the very start of the investigation and helped bring Oliver North to trial.

We'll discuss his decision to join the investigation, how an investigation of this size and scope works, his frustrations at the overturning of Oliver North's connections, and what this 30-year-old scandal can teach us today.

Michael Bromwich joined me from his office in Washington, DC. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

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Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, host of the Wondery Show Business Movers. In our latest series, an intrepid lawyer turned fast food executive named George Cohan, creates an ingenious and wily scheme to sell big Macs behind the Iron Curtain in the middle of the Cold War.

Listen to business movers, the McDonald's invasion on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michael Bromwich, thank you very much for talking to us on American Scandal.

My pleasure.

So, Iran Contra. This was largely held away from the public and congressional view for a long, long time.

But in the end of 1986, some things happened and it happened rather quickly. November 3, 1986, a Lebanese magazine, Al-Sharah, reports that the US has been sending spare parts and ammunition to Iran in return for release of American hostages.

Not but a few weeks later, November 25, Attorney General Ed Meece publicly announces that the diversion that this is more than just an Iranian scandal, that it's linked to the Nick Rogland Contras and he and Reagan announces Admiral Pointexter's resignation and Colonel North dismissal.

Then just a few weeks after that, January 6 or 7, you are working on this case. The Senate and House committees are set up to investigate the affair. How did you come to be part of the team?

So, I was in the United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and as I recall it, I was actually trying a complicated organized crime and narcotics case in October and November.

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