JILL DOUGHERTY MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Mr. Bush granted executive clemency to six public officials involved in the Iran Contra affair. In a written statement, Mr. Bush said all six men, regardless of whether their actions were right or wrong, had acted out of patriotic motives, not seeking to profit from their conduct. (on camera): President Bush did this, really, at the 11th hour. In fact, there were two cases that hadn't even gone to court before these men were pardoned. Now, some people who were directly involved in providing arms and funding were actually allowed to go to court. These were the people who, the president said, had made money from the deal. (voice-over): But President Bush said that this was, basically, the end of the Cold War; that these men had been involved, rightly or wrongly, in doing some thing that they felt they should have done.</s>GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Constitution is quite clear on the powers of the president, and sometimes a president has to make a very difficult call.
CNN 20: Bush Pardons Iran Contra Figures, December 24, 1992