Appeal Claims Reagan Should Have Testified in North Trial

WASHINGTON —  Oliver L. North’s superiors, including former President Ronald Reagan, tried to cover up the Iran-Contra scandal, and Reagan should have been questioned on the matter at North’s trial, lawyers for the former White House aide said Friday.

“Mr. Reagan was in a position to testify, as no other witness available to North could,” about whether the President authorized a cover-up of a 1985 shipment of Hawk missiles to Iran, North said in a brief urging a federal appeals court to overturn his convictions.

Former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter told North that Reagan, at a Nov. 12, 1986, meeting, had not disclosed to congressional leaders his 1985 authorization for the Hawk shipment, North testified at his trial.

“That statement by Poindexter certainly provided a reasonable basis for concluding that Mr. Reagan had made clear that U.S. involvement in the Hawk shipment should not be disclosed to Congress,” North’s court filing said.

U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell quashed North’s subpoena for Reagan’s testimony, saying the court record contained no proof the President had authorized North to break the law.