Meese Testifies Poindexter Took Part in ‘Cover Story’ : Iran-Contra: Ex-attorney general tries to help former colleague, but missile deal testimony damages defense.

Former Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III testified Thursday that John M. Poindexter participated in a false “cover story” that was given to Congress in the Iran-Contra case despite a stated desire by former President Ronald Reagan that he wanted the truth to come out.

Called as a defense witness by Poindexter’s attorneys, Meese gave his damaging testimony under sharp cross-examination by prosecutor Dan K. Webb.

Meese said Poindexter raised no objections at a White House meeting on Nov. 20, 1986, when his aide, Oliver L. North, falsely assured participants that no U.S. official had advance knowledge of a shipment of U.S. Hawk missiles to Iran in 1985.

The controversial missile shipment, delivered to so-called Iranian moderates by Israel on behalf of the United States, was being investigated by Congress at the time of the White House meeting, Meese acknowledged. He said the meeting had been called mainly to prepare William J. Casey, the late CIA director, to testify to a congressional committee the next day.

Meese said Reagan was not present, but the meeting included himself, North, Poindexter and Casey.

Meese said he had been unaware at the time of the meeting that North’s statement, which was incorporated into a chronology that was given to Congress, was untruthful. He said he later learned the statement was false and acknowledged there was evidence that Poindexter knew it, too.

At the same time, Meese seemed anxious to excuse Poindexter’s conduct, saying he did not know how much Poindexter knew because information about the Iran-Contra case was “highly compartmentalized.”

Webb showed Meese a 1985 computer message from North to Poindexter that told of the impending Hawk shipment. But Meese said he did not know if Poindexter ever received the message.

Meese said that Poindexter and others at the meeting also claimed they first believed that Israel was sending oil-drilling equipment to Iran rather than Hawk missiles. But that statement, too, turned out to be false, Meese said.

Nonetheless, when Richard W. Beckler, Poindexter’s lawyer, asked: “Did Adm. Poindexter ever tell you a lie?” Meese replied: “No, not to my knowledge.”

At another point, Beckler asked: “Was anything said at the meeting about putting out a false story?”

“No, not that I heard,” Meese replied. He added that Reagan earlier had stated that he “wanted to be sure all the truth was found out and presented to the American people.”

Poindexter, who was Reagan’s national security adviser during most of 1986, is being tried on five felony charges of conspiracy, obstruction of congressional inquiries and giving false statements to Congress in relation to Iranian arms sales and funneling of profits to the Nicaraguan resistance.

U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene said it seemed peculiar that “everybody would have to get together” to discuss past events rather than testifying to Congress about their individual knowledge of the events. But Meese said Casey was being prepared to testify as the Administration’s chief spokesman.

Under questioning by the prosecutor, Meese said he learned hours later from Charles J. Cooper, another Justice Department official, that “there was a great deal more knowledge in the U.S. government about the Hawk shipment.”

Previous testimony at the trial has shown that North was aware of the Hawk shipment before it occurred and informed Poindexter.