Amid a flurry of new discoveries, expert tap-dancing.
Amid a flurry of new discoveries; expert tap-dancing.

. . . or click on the link here for Audio Player – President Reagan Press Conference – March 19, 1987 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection.

Billed as “the most important Press Conference of his Presidency”, President Ronald Reagan faced members of the White House Press Corps for the first time in 4 months, since the initial flurry of allegations surfaced about the Iran-Contra Affair.

During the time between the initial revelations and this News Conference, considerably more information had been uncovered, much of it pointing directly at the White House.

So there was a heightened sense of drama to the otherwise routine proceedings.

And aside from the cheerful opening statement regarding the economy, which was going great guns and the clockwork-predictable squabbles between Democrats and Republicans over the Budget, questions were primarily about the Iran-Contra Affair.

And answers were not revelatory and far from earth-shattering. The familiar “I do not recall” was used over and over, and a pledge to “get to the bottom of this” was reiterated. He maintained throughout that he knew nothing about the scheme to divert profits from the sale of arms to Iran to the Contras.

Here is that Press Conference, as it was carried live by National Public Radio on March 19, 1987.