I was saddened to discover that the former president didn't remember such basic facts as that Michael Deaver had come to Washington with him from California or that John Poindexter had resigned. When asked to confirm his contemporaneous reactions to Iran-Contra developments, as recorded in his diary and in the notes of Weinberger and Shultz, Reagan most often responded that what I had read to him sounded like what he would have said, that the notes reflected the way he would have felt.

During a break, he took me to the window overlooking the city of Los Angeles and identified points of interest with pride and affection. It had been a long time since anyone had captivated me so completely. I knew that I was dealing with an actor but, after sixty years of examining witnesses, I was ready to stake my reputation that this was no act. This was Ronald Reagan--disabled, to be sure, but still enormously appealing.

By the time the meeting had ended, it was as obvious to the former president's counsel as it was to us that we were not going to prosecute Reagan.

Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up
By Lawrence E. Walsh
Page 421