Iran-Contra Affair

The Iran-Contra affair was essentially two political scandals in one. Several members of the Reagan administration (unknowingly to Reagan) sold arms to the United States's enemy, Iran, and then, to put the icing on the cake, they took the money made by those sales and used it to fund a Nicaraguan guerilla group, the Contras. They did it to 'influence Hezbollah (a Lebanese terror group) to release American hostages and to improve relations with Iran'. After the missiles and other weapons were shipped, the profits went to the Contras. The Contras tried to overthrow the Sandinista government, and are accused of human rights violations as well. The two main people involved in the scandal, Oliver North and John Poindexter, were indicted, but Reagan was able to rebound from it, probably because of his lack of involvement.