The mоst seriоus scаndаl in the presidency оf Ronаld Reagan was [BLANK-1] of the mid-1980s. Reagan administration officials in the National Security Council violated the Boland Amendment and sold arms to a foreign government (against congressional orders) in order to fund a group opposed to Nicaragua’s Sandinista government (also against congressional orders). This serious violation of U.S. law bordered on treason. While no smoking gun could be found tying the president officially to the scandal, congresspersons on both sides of the aisle and historians formed a consensus that the orders would not have been carried out without Ronald Reagan’s approval. Senior NSC official Oliver North took full responsibility for the incident in order to protect Reagan and was indicted on 16 serious criminal charges. This scandal seriously tarnished the legacy of Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party of the 1980s.