Col. North Files Suit to Block Special Prosecutor’s Probe : Says Inquiry Violates Constitution

Fired White House aide Col. Oliver L. North today filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law empowering the special prosecutor to investigate North and the Iran arms scandal.

The suit, filed by his lawyers in U.S. District Court in Washington, charged that prosecutorial authority belongs exclusively to the executive branch and that the law violates the constitutional requirement on the separation of powers.

Brendan Sullivan, an attorney representing North from the prominent Washington law firm of Williams & Connolly, argued in court papers that only a presidential appointee may prosecute offenses against the United States.

Lawrence Walsh was appointed by a special three-judge federal court created under the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, a law passed in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

‘Not Removable at Will’

The ethics law “and defendant Walsh’s appointment thereunder violate the Constitution and the separation of powers principles inherent in it because the independent counsel is not removable at will by the President or by the attorney general,” Sullivan said.

North, a Marine lieutenant colonel and former National Security Council aide, was the only publicly identified target when the special three-judge court two months ago appointed Walsh, a former top Justice Department official, to investigate criminal wrongdoing in the shipment of arms to Iran and the diversion of profits to the Nicaraguan rebels.

A spokeswoman for Walsh, who has been issuing subpoenas and granting immunity as part of his fast-moving investigation, had no immediate comment on North’s suit.

The Justice Department, which is expected to defend the constitutionality of the law in court, also had no comment.

Asks Injunctive Relief

The lawsuit asked for a declaratory judgment from the court striking down the law as unconstitutional and asking for injunctive relief.

Reagan fired North and National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter resigned Nov. 25 amid disclosures of the Iran arms sales.

The suit charged that the ethics-in-government law vests in the special prosecutor the full authority of the attorney general to execute the laws.

The lawsuit noted that numerous subpoenas have been issued by Walsh as part of his investigation of North and that immunity or cooperative agreements have been reached with at least one witness.

Immunity for Secretary

Sources close to the investigation confirmed widely published reports that North’s secretary, Fawn Hall, was formally granted immunity as part of a deal to tell investigators how she helped North destroy sensitive documents involving the affair.

Although North was the only publicly identified target of the probe, Walsh’s investigation is also expected to cover a wide range of former and current Reagan Administration officials as well as individuals outside of government.

Walsh has also been investigating possible obstruction-of-justice charges involving North and other White House aides, the sources said.

North has refused to testify before congressional investigating committees about his role in the scandal citing his constitutional right against self-incrimination.