Last year, Republicans angered by the long-running Iran-Contra investigation blocked action to re-enact the law.

He also played a role in the Iran-Contra investigations.

In particular, Democrats portrayed Whitewater as a political witch-hunt, much as Republicans had at the end of the 1980s Iran-Contra investigations.

Inouye was also involved in the Iran-Contra investigations of the 1980s, chairing a special committee from 1987 until 1989.

He was an associate counsel to Lawrence E. Walsh, the independent counsel for the Iran-Contra investigation.

The subsequent Iran-Contra investigations cast light over U.S. operations in the region, and several of Posada's connections, including Félix Rodríguez were asked to testify.

Respected as a painstaking negotiator, he also represented Fawn Hall, a White House secretary caught up in the Iran-Contra investigation in the Reagan Administration.

On December 19, 1986, Walsh was named as the independent counsel in charge of the Iran-Contra investigation.

Republicans first complained that the Iran-Contra investigation, which spanned the Reagan and Bush administrations, was an effort to use the criminal law to challenge political actions.