With George W. Bush's victory in the 2000 presidential election, Bush and his son became the second father–son pair to serve as the nation's president, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Several of the aviators shot down during the attack were captured and executed, and their livers were eaten by their captors. When news of affair broke to the media, Bush, like Reagan, stated that he had been 'out of the loop' and unaware of the diversion of funds, although this has assertion has since been challenged. Biographer Jon Meacham writes that 'no evidence was ever produced proving Bush was aware of the diversion to the contras,' but he criticizes Bush's 'out of the loop' characterization, writing that the 'record is clear that Bush was aware that the United States, in contravention of its own stated policy, was trading arms for hostages'. The Iran–Contra scandal, as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency, raising questions about Reagan's competency.
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