Iran-Contra affair

"The simple truth is, 'I don't remember — period.'"

"I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true. But the facts and the evidence tell me it is not."

"I have paid a price for my silence in terms of your trust and confidence. But I had to wait for the complete story."

"I was provided with additional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version."

"I honestly answered every question put to me during the Iran Contra hearings. But if they didn't ask me something, I was not going to reveal things that would put other people in jeopardy."

"Let me say to the hostage families : we have not given up, we never will. And I promise to you that we shall use every legitimate means to free your loved ones."

"There exists a shadowy Government with its own air force, own navy, own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest free from all checks and balances, and free from the Law itself."

"Reagan survived the Iran Contra scandal because the illegal elements in it were popular, while the popular things were illegal."