CNN Gives Noriega Tapes to Magistrate for Review : Media: U.S. official is to report to district judge on whether the broadcast of conversations would damage the ex-dictator’s right to a fair trial.

The swirl of legal issues complicating the case against Gen. Manuel A. Noriega took another turn Tuesday when the Cable News Network handed a federal magistrate several jailhouse tape recordings of the former Panamanian dictator talking with his lawyers.

The magistrate, William C. Turnoff, is to review the conversations and then report to U.S. District Judge William M. Hoeveler on whether broadcast of the tapes damages the general’s right to a fair trial on drug-dealing charges.

CNN agreed to submit the tapes for review after the U.S. Supreme Court refused Sunday to overturn an order by Hoeveler that temporarily barred the network from airing them. Frank Rubino, Noriega’s chief defense counsel, has charged CNN with compromising the general’s right to a fair trial by airing privileged attorney-client conversations.

Meanwhile, during an interview Tuesday in his chambers, Hoeveler lamented the delays caused by wrangling over the tapes and the defense team’s legal fees, which the judge called “these side problems . . . which have taken on a life of (their) own.”

Rubino, who says he has not been paid for months, has asked to quit the case unless the government either makes money from Noriega’s frozen bank accounts available, or the judge raises the $60 an hour fee cap the defense could charge as court-appointed lawyers.

“If we did not have these problems, we could make that trial date of Jan. 28,” Hoeveler said. But, he added, bringing in a new defense team “would cause (a delay) of at least a couple of months.”

Of the funding question, Hoeveler said that “we’re reaching a crisis on that,” and indicated that he would rule next week. “I would prefer that they (Rubino and three colleagues) stay on the case,” he said. “That’s the most sensible way to get this case to trial.”

The judge said also during the interview that he was aware that the case against the former strongman, seized during last December’s invasion of Panama, was frequently ridiculed by comics and newspaper columnists, and he acknowledged a widespread public perception that Noriega’s chances for a fair trial are remote.

“I know everybody believes, ‘Let’s give him a trial before we hang him.’ It’s unfortunate that people feel that way,” Hoeveler said. “In all that I do, I try to give the impression that he’s getting a fair shake.

“But these other issues, the fees, the tapes--these are causing the skepticism.”

Added Hoeveler: “I have every intention of making sure he does get a fair trial. And not just because he’s Gen. Noriega, but because he’s a defendant in a criminal proceeding.”

The next step in the CNN tape issue is expected after Turnoff reports to Hoeveler, perhaps later this week. At that point, the judge will either permit their airing, or order a permanent ban. A ban will prompt an appeal by CNN, according to network attorneys.

“We are confident that after Magistrate Turnoff reviews these tapes, CNN will be found not to have violated the court order,” said Steven W. Korn, general counsel for Turner Broadcasting System Inc., CNN’s parent company. Those conversations broadcast last week--recorded at the federal prison south of Miami, where Noriega is being held--were not covered by the judge’s order protecting attorney-client privilege, Korn said. “We acted in good faith,” he added.

Noriega co-counsel Jon May said he has asked Hoeveler to find CNN in contempt of court, and assess fines of up to $300,000 for each broadcast of a taped conversation between the general and his attorneys. Multiplying that fine by each airing over every CNN affiliate could produce a total of some $12 million, he said.

When asked if those fines could be used to pay Noriega’s legal fees, May said: “That may well be.”