The Nation - News from July 7, 1988

Fired White House aide Oliver L. North and his defense lawyers attended a closed hearing to argue their requests to use secret documents as evidence in the Iran-Contra conspiracy case. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell was closed both to the public and to prosecutors, to protect the secrecy of the documents and North’s defense strategy. Gesell convened the hearing to begin the process of reviewing North’s requests and determine if the material culled from the mass of secret documents collected by prosecutors is relevant to the case. North has been given until Monday to file a list of secret documents he proposes to use in defending charges he conspired to illegally divert profits from the U.S.-Iran arms sales to the Nicaraguan rebels.