The Nation - News from July 28, 1988

U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell, venting his continued frustration with delays in the Iran-Contra case, warned that he may throw out conspiracy charges against Oliver L. North unless the prosecution turns over disputed classified documents to North’s attorneys. Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, chided by Gesell for trying “to avoid the reality of the case,” said that he will try in the next several days to comply with Gesell’s order. But he complained that compiling the documents was a time-consuming process and said much of the material was irrelevant. In a related matter, Gesell put off any decision on North’s motion to delay the start of his trial until March.