North's Trial Will Go Ahead As Planned

WASHINGTON--The chief justice yesterday ordered a delay in the start of Oliver North's Iran-Contra trial, but the independent prosecutor and the Justice Department later agreed on a plan aimed at letting the trial go ahead.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist granted a Justice Department request to delay North's trial from Monday's scheduled start until Friday, when the full Supreme Court is scheduled to consider the department's objections to the planned release of classified material by North's defense.

Hours later, Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh and independent counsel Lawrence Walsh agreed to a proposal that would impose more stringent safeguards on North's use of classified material.

If the proposal is approved by the judge handling the case, U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell, the Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to lift the stay so that the North trial may proceed, according to statements issued by the department and Walsh.

Walsh and the department filed a sealed motion with Gesell "which requests that the district court enter an additional protective order preventing the release of classified information vital to U.S. national security interests," the Justice Department said in a statement yesterday.

Rehnquist yesterday ordered "that the trial proceedings in United States versus Oliver L. North... be stayed" pending consideration by the full Supreme Court on Friday.

A jury in the case was selected Thursday and returns to court this morning.

Walsh, whose office is prosecuting North, had opposed the Justice Department's efforts to delay the trial and wanted to proceed immediately with opening arguments, saying that national security concerns had been amply addressed.

The Justice Department, reflecting concerns of U.S. intelligence agencies, believes that Gesell has imposed inadequate controls on North and that the fired National Security Council aide would be permitted to pour out secrets in the courtroom that are damaging to national security.

"The Department of Justice concluded, and the Independent Counsel concurred, that the trial could not go forward without an additional protective order, and that it is essential for the court to enter such an order," said the Justice Department statement.

The statement said that without such an order, the Justice Department concluded and the Independent Counsel concurred "that it will be impossible during the defense's opening statement and presentation of evidence to protect against the unnecessary and uncontrolled disclosure of classified information." The information was described in the Justice Department statement as "of vital importance to the national security and the foreign relations of the United States."