Today is Tuesday, May 5th, 2020.

On this day in 1987, Congress commenced a joint hearing

to investigate the Reagan administration's

illegal funding of the Contras, a guerrilla military group in Nicaragua.

The scandal known as the Iran-Contra affair would send Washington into a tail spin and haunt Reagan

for the rest of his presidency. Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Today we're covering the Iran Contra affair and the 41-day joint hearing that exposed every

intricate detail of the scandal. Let's go back to Washington DC on the morning of

May 5th just before the first hearing convened.

As Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye made his way to Capitol Hill, he passed droves of reporters

camped out along the National Mall. He passed beneath a giant glass booth strapped to the roof of a nearby

building. It was for Dan Rather, who wanted to cover the joint hearings on live television, the iconic domed roof of Capitol Hill behind

him.

To call this hearing a media circus was an insult to P.T. Barnum. This was a free-for-all. But Senator Inoue had expected this. In a few minutes time

the entire country would watch as he launched an investigation into Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular

presidents in US history. The air was so tense you could pluck it like a guitar string.

Months ago, the attorney general had uncovered a secret arms deal with Iran

and the illegal funding of an insurgency in Nicaragua.

The media had had a field day.

The American people were shocked.

An investigation had been called,

led by Republican Senator John Tower.

...