Edwin Meese, the U.S. Attorney General, dropped a bombshell when he revealed that profits from secret arms deals with Iran had been illegally siphoned off to support the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. This shocking admission exposed a web of deceit that reached the highest echelons of the Reagan administration. The news sparked a firestorm of controversy, with lawmakers and citizens alike demanding answers about the administration's clandestine activities. The Iran-Contra affair, as it came to be known, would go on to tarnish the reputation of the Reagan presidency and lead to the resignation of several high-ranking officials.