At the end of the day, arguably the largest cocaine smuggling operation in the country was being run out of his district and he looked the otherway. My guess is that the CIA and the governor told him they were shipping guns down to the Contra's and if Asa, a good Republican ever wanted to make it anywhere, he best leave it alone. The fact that the pilot was flying down with guns and coming back with cocaine was unfortunate but necesary, I guess was the rational.
How that qualifies you for work at the DEA, I don't really want to think about.