Abrams Cancels Capitol Hill Appearance : Cites Schedule Conflict; Some on Panel Didn’t Want Him Anyway

WASHINGTON — Elliott Abrams, under intense criticism on Capitol Hill in the Iran- contra scandal, canceled a congressional appearance on another subject today because of a “scheduling conflict.”

Abrams, assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, had been scheduled to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere subcommittee on the situation in Panama. But his office notified the panel early today he would send a deputy instead.

The panel’s chairman, Rep. George W. Crockett Jr. (D-Mich.), said that although some members had wanted to reject Abrams as a witness because of earlier misleading testimony to other panels on U.S. support for the Nicaraguan contras, it was not the subcommittee that canceled the appearance.

“There was some discussion in the committee. Some felt we should tell the State Department he was so discredited that he should not appear as a witness,” Crockett told reporters. “But that message was never sent.”

An Abrams aide said the assistant secretary had been asked to participate in a meeting between Vice President George Bush and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez held at the same time as the hearing.

“It was a scheduling conflict,” she said.

Asked about that explanation, Crockett said: “I neither accept it nor reject it. It’s a fact that he was not here.”

Another Abrams deputy was sent to an afternoon hearing before a Senate subcommittee to testify about Panama. That panel is headed by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who has said he does not want Abrams as a witness.