Even if it turns out that Mr. Bush had been deceptive about his knowledge and actions, there is no indication that he engaged in any wrongdoing. Israeli Documents Are Shown

The existing body of evidence about Mr. Bush's role continues to grow. On Friday evening, the ABC News program "Nightline" described two Israeli Government documents, long known to exist but never before made public, that discuss Mr. Bush's meeting in July 1986 with Amiram Nir, the Israeli counterrorism expert who functioned as Oliver L. North's counterpart in the arms deals.

One document is a chronology of the role in the affair played by Israeli officials, who operated as intermediaries between the United States and Iran. The second document contains Mr. Nir's commentary on his private half-hour meeting with Mr. Bush to discuss the arms deals on July 29, 1986, in Jersualem, a meeting that has been previously known through notes taken by Craig L. Fuller, Mr. Bush's chief of staff.

Over all, the document as described by ABC seems to confirm Mr. Fuller's account of a wide-ranging and detailed discussion of the Iran initiative. That alone is embarrassing for Mr. Bush, because before Mr. Fuller's notes surfaced, Mr. Bush had told a Presidential review board that his meeting with Mr. Nir had centered on counterrorism without focusing on the arms deals.

Since the Nir memorandum surfaced, Mr. Bush has insisted the briefing left him still unclear about the arms-for-hostages nature of the Iran operation. In a January 1988 interview with CBS News, Mr. Bush said, "I was told what they were doing, and not what we were doing, and that's a big difference."

A review of Mr. Bush's statements about the affair in light of the public record raise questions about his account of several significant elements. The following are some of the main contradictions:

Mr. Bush said he wanted the truth but never provided a complete account of his own actions, and as President he has allowed subordinates to hinder the efforts of prosecutors trying to get to the bottom of the affair.

In December 1986, when Vice President Bush was a prospective Presidential candidate, he delivered a speech about the scandal one week after the news conference in which Attorney General Edwin Meese 3d disclosed the diversion of arms-sale profits to the contras.