Judge Delays Walsh Ruling : Needs Time to Study Plan for Classified Data

The judge in the Iran-Contra case today ruled that he needed more time to study independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh’s plan to prevent unauthorized disclosure of 150,000 pages of classified documents.

U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell denied Walsh’s motion for expedited consideration of the proposed protective order, saying it “appears to be far too complex, lacks definite time restrictions and creates undue obstacles to the fair and expeditious disposition of this case.”

But the judge said he wants to set an April deadline for Walsh’s review of the classified material and fix a time for the defense to notify the court whether it intends to use any of the secret documents as evidence.

Some of the documents from the CIA, the State Department, the National Security Council and other agencies may be introduced as evidence after they are declassified or secret material is deleted.

Lawyers for former national security adviser John M. Poindexter, Lt. Col. Oliver L. North and arms dealers Richard V. Secord and Albert A. Hakim had filed a motion opposing Walsh’s plan to require them and their clients to obtain security clearances to examine the material.