Admiral Was Far Off Course : Poindexter Sentence Treats a Serious Crime Seriously

The Founding Fathers, who knew much about history and quite enough about human nature, intuitively understood the risks of concentrating too much political power in too few hands.

The safeguard they devised, a foundation stone and among the enduring glories of American constitutionalism, was to disperse authority among the different interdependent branches of government. If powers were separated, if checks were applied to how power could be used, demagogues might be controlled and despotism might be forestalled. What made estimable political sense two centuries ago remains valid to this day.

Many imperatives, customs and consequences flow from this wise and practical approach to the problem of wielding power in a democracy.

Among them is that one branch of government is obligated to respect the legal authority and constitutional duties of another. John M. Poindexter, in his capacity as President Reagan’s national security adviser, violated that injunction and so breached a vital trust. For that, he has now been ordered to spend up to six months in jail.

In sentencing Poindexter for deceiving Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal, U.S. District Judge Harold Greene offered an elementary but essential civics lesson. What Poindexter and his underling Oliver L. North tried to do when they lied to Congress and illicitly destroyed evidence “was not a part of the normal political process.” It was instead an effort by appointed officials of the executive branch to “nullify” the decision of Congress--elected by the American people--to cut aid to the Nicaraguan Contras. That is a crime that must be treated seriously.

In Poindexter’s case at least, it now has been. It is a sad denouement for the former admiral who chose to place service to a dubious cause and loyalty to a confused master ahead of the solemn oath he had sworn to defend and protect the nation’s Constitution.