Reagan Taping: Doubly Unusual

Former President Ronald Reagan’s testimony in the case of his former national security adviser, Adm. John M. Poindexter, occurred under unusual circumstances and was released Thursday in an equally unusual manner.

Out of deference to the former President, Reagan was allowed to give his testimony in the form of a deposition before Poindexter’s trial rather than being required to attend the trial itself, which is scheduled to begin early next month.

The testimony, which included cross-examination, was recorded on videotape in Los Angeles and will be shown to the jury once the actual case begins.

In the meantime, because of public interest in what the former President had to say, Judge Harold H. Greene ordered a full transcript of the testimony released. In addition, reporters were allowed to go to the courthouse here Thursday to watch the eight-hour videotape of the testimony.

But to avoid prejudicing potential jurors, Greene declined to release the tape for broadcast. He imposed no such restriction on reporting the tape’s contents.