Judge Orders Reagan to Turn Over Notes, Diaries for Poindexter Iran-Contra Trial

A federal judge ruled Thursday that former President Ronald Reagan must turn over by next Wednesday the diaries and other personal records that John M. Poindexter, his former national security adviser, says he needs to defend himself against Iran-Contra charges.

In issuing the order, which sets the stage for a constitutional battle over executive privilege, U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene signaled that Poindexter had convinced him that the Reagan materials are “specific, relevant documents” to his defense.

Poindexter’s subpoena request was classified, and Greene did not specify the nature of the materials in his order. But earlier court filings made it clear that Poindexter seeks Reagan’s diaries and notes to argue that the former President knew of his actions in the Iran-Contra matter. Those actions form the basis of the charges against him.

Reagan’s lawyer, Theodore B. Olson, declined comment on Greene’s ruling. David Runkel, chief spokesman for Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh, said: “We would anticipate that President Reagan’s counsel will have the lead here but we will be reviewing what options the government has.”

Last month, when Greene ruled that Reagan’s notes and diaries were subject to subpoena, Runkel said that the ruling raised “a serious question regarding the institution of the presidency.” A move to quash the subpoena, which is directed to both Reagan and the archivist of the United States, is considered highly likely.

Such a challenge could raise questions left open by the Supreme Court’s 8-0 ruling in 1974 requiring former President Richard M. Nixon to surrender tapes of his conversations for the criminal trial of several of his aides.

That decision recognized a “constitutionally based” executive privilege covering presidential materials. But in the Watergate cover-up case, the court said that privilege “must yield to the demonstrated specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial.” At a hearing in September, Frederick Robinson, an attorney for Poindexter, told Greene that the diaries and personal notes of both Reagan and President Bush are crucial for Poindexter’s defense.

Greene subsequently ruled that Reagan’s papers could be subpoenaed but not those of Bush.

Robinson said that Reagan’s notes are needed because his client had relied on the former President’s assurances that Poindexter’s activities on behalf of Nicaragua’s Contras were legal.

“Not only did Adm. Poindexter believe these things were legal, but the President (Reagan) himself told Poindexter that they were,” Robinson said.

Poindexter, whose trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 22, is charged with conspiracy, obstruction of congressional inquiries and false statements in connection with his support of Nicaraguan rebel forces in 1985 and 1986, after Congress had banned all direct and indirect military assistance to the Contras.

Poindexter, who was deputy national security adviser and then national security adviser during the Iran-Contra affair, met frequently with Reagan with no one else present, Robinson said. For that reason, Reagan’s personal notes and his recollection of events are crucial to Poindexter’s defense, he argued.

Although former White House aide Oliver L. North failed in a similar attempt to obtain testimony and documents from Reagan and Bush, Greene determined that Poindexter’s appeal warranted greater consideration because of the extent of his contact with Reagan. North was convicted on three felony charges in the Iran-Contra scandal last May.