The most serious scandal in the administration of President Ronald Reagan, the affair involved two linked, arguably illegal, covert US government operations that became public knowledge in November 1986. In the first operation, the government sold arms to Iran in an effort to secure the release of seven hostages who had been held in Lebanon since 1984 by terrorists allied with Iran. The arms sales contradicted the stated government policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists, and of isolating Iran, and at least some of the sales may have violated federal law. In the second operation, the government used the proceeds from the arms sales to supply arms to a group of rebels, known as the contras, who were trying to overthrow the left-wing government in Nicaragua, known as the Sandinistas. The operation violated a federal law that had banned US aid to the contras. The scandal led to investigations by both Congress and an independent special counsel, but only a few relatively minor figures were convicted of any crimes, and in 1992 President George Bush pardoned all those charged or convicted because of the scandal.