NSC Review to Interview Reagan Again

WASHINGTON--A national security review board said yesterday it will interview President Reagan a second time before concluding its work, while the chairman of a House Iran-Contra investigative committee said about 100 subpoenas have already been issued.

At the same time, former Sen. John Tower, the panel's chairman, requested the assistance of Israel as his commission nears a February 19 deadline for compiling its report.

This came as Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), chairman of the special House committee, said lawmakers were preparing to question Israeli figures about that country's role in the clandestine sales of U.S. arms to Iran.

Yossi Gal, a spokesman at the Israeli Embassy, said that at a White House meeting, Ambassador Meir Rosenne "restated Israel is ready to cooperate" in the inquiry.

Hamilton said that while Israelis have agreed to have officials respond to written questions from congressional investigators, "I hope they will consider our request to interview orally the officials."

A statement issued by Tower's panel said, "The board met with Ambassador Rosenne to explore the degree of cooperation it might expect from the Israeli government in connection with the board's investigation of the Iran-Contra matter." There was no elaboration on the content of the talks.

Hamilton said his committee also "would like to hear from the leaders of the Contras [Nicaraguan rebel forces]" about assertions that profits from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran were diverted to the rebel forces.

In issuing scores of subpoenas for individuals and documents, Hamilton said in a meeting with reporters on Capitol Hill, the House committee intends to press for access to bank records from Switzerland, Panama and the Cayman Islands.

Hebert Hetu, a spokesman for the presidential review board headed by Tower, initially said that the commission had reviewed excerpts of Reagan's personal notes about the affair.

But Hetu said late yesterday that "I misspoke, and I apologize." The spokesman said the board has requested the notes and expects to get them and review them.

The panel met with the president for more than an hour on January 26, and Reagan answered all questions that were posed, the White House said at the time. He had invited the board back for an additional meeting, and the group now has contacted the White House to arrange a date, Hetu said, adding that it could come as early as next week.

Hetu declined to say what subjects would be covered, but said the board had learned more since it first talked with Reagan.

Hamilton indicated that public hearings are not likely to begin for several weeks. He said committee aides are experiencing a delay in obtaining government security clearances necessary for them to read classified documents that have begun arriving at the panel's offices.

In a meeting with a group of reporters, the Indiana Democrat said that "at some point the committee's going to have to confront the issue of immunity for some people."

Reagan has called on Congress to provide limited immunity to two key former aides to compel their testimony. The two, former national security adviser John M. Poindexter and his former aide, Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, cited their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination in refusing to testify late last year before other congressional committees.