North Judge Limits Disclosure of Secrets, Declares That Trial Will Resume Tuesday

A federal judge, resolving the remaining disputes over the use of classified information, declared Friday that the much-delayed trial of former White House aide Oliver L. North will resume Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell, issuing orders to limit disclosures of secret materials at the Iran-Contra trial, said that members of the jury he has chosen will take their oaths of office after the three-day holiday weekend and hear opening statements from government and defense attorneys.

After meeting in closed conferences most of the day with prosecutors and North’s defense attorneys, Gesell gave general approval to plans by independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh to consult with the Justice Department on unforeseen issues of national security that may arise during the trial. North is accused of lying to Congress and to a presidential panel about his activities on behalf of the Nicaraguan Contras.

Question of Authority

The trial has been held up for nine days because of disputes over how much authority the attorney general has to intervene in court proceedings involving questions of national security.

Gesell originally objected to demands by the Justice Department that their lawyers be allowed to sit at the prosecution table, so they could object if a sensitive document were introduced. Gesell said that it would be too disruptive and that there should only be “one government” representative in the courtroom, meaning Walsh.

To meet Gesell’s objections, Walsh pledged to give Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh veto power over sensitive matters about to be introduced instead of having Justice Department lawyers sitting with the prosecutor. Thornburgh is responsible for protecting national security in criminal cases under a 1980 law.

Gesell said Friday that he would allow such consultation by Walsh outside the courtroom as long as it “does not unreasonably interfere with the orderly processes of the court.” North’s lawyers had objected that the latest plan would “cripple” court proceedings by giving Thornburgh too much leeway to interrupt the trial.

Seek to Bar Use of Act

They filed a 21-page document Friday renewing North’s motion that the 1980 Classified Information Procedures Act be declared unconstitutional as it applies to his case. Gesell made no immediate ruling on the motion.

Thornburgh will have the power to withhold evidence on a subject altogether, even if it could cause the dismissal of certain charges against North, the judge has said.

Gesell has laid out general categories on what may and may not be disclosed at North’s trial and has instructed government and defense lawyers to confer with him in private before raising any specific matters that are not clearly covered by his rules.

Settling another issue Friday, Gesell heard final arguments behind closed doors from prosecutors and defense attorneys on the wording of a government statement about efforts by the Ronald Reagan Administration to obtain military aid for the Contras from foreign countries.

North’s attorneys have argued in court papers that the jury must be told that Reagan and his top aides obtained this aid and ordered the operation concealed from Congress at a time when Congress had barred the Administration from giving direct aid to the Nicaraguan rebels.

North attorney Brendan V. Sullivan Jr. said that this information goes to “the heart” of North’s defense. But to shield the names of the countries involved, which allegedly were promised CIA support by the Administration in return, Gesell approved the wording of an agreement in which the government acknowledges that the Reagan Administration enlisted military support from 13 countries. But the agreement contains no statement that this was ordered concealed from Congress.

The acknowledgement will prevent North’s lawyers from identifying the 13 countries.

But Gesell said that North’s lawyers may introduce evidence to support their claim that Reagan and key officials of his Administration kept the policy secret and “openly encouraged or condoned . . . (North’s) alleged concealments, obstructions or incorrect responses” with which he is charged.

North, 45, a former official of the National Security Council, benefited last month from dismissal of the two principal charges against him--conspiracy to defraud the government and theft of government property. The charges were dropped after Thornburgh determined that government documents dealing with North’s alleged diversion of $14 million in Iranian arms-sale profits to the Contras were so sensitive that they could not be produced in court.

12 Lesser Charges

As a result, the retired Marine lieutenant colonel is being tried on 12 lesser criminal charges. He is accused of concealing from Congress in 1985 and 1986 his efforts on behalf of the Contras and of lying to the attorney general and a presidential board of inquiry about the NSC’s role in diverting money from the arms sales to the rebels.

North also is accused of illegally accepting a $13,800 security system at his home from an associate, converting to his own use at least $4,300 in traveler’s checks from Contra leader Adolfo Calero and conspiring to defraud the Treasury of tax revenue in connection with contributions supporting the Contras.