European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes William f. Buckley North s document defense not As easy As Abc the new York times . Apple captured nicely the general frustration when about the decision to drop the toughest charges against Oliver North he wrote it was perhaps the least satisfying outcome imaginable lacking the catharsis of a courtroom Bat the the melodrama of a presidential Par Don the put it behind us finality of a decision not to indict in the first  Here for the confused Are the confusing but discernible parts Many people urged president Reagan to Pardon North. They were motivated to do this by one or More factors. A they believe that North should not be persecuted for doing what he did in the line of duty. B they disapprove of judicial and legislative interference in an executive relationship which in order to function requires a guarantee of immunity from the kind of Public scrutiny it would receive in the courtroom. C they do not believe that presi Dent Reagan or president Bush should run the real risk of being summoned to a courtroom to be questioned by an aggressive prosecutor and North s de sense lawyer sitting Bull who would rather see the end of Western civilization than one of his clients spend one Day in jail. What then happened was that the grim prosecutor Lawrence e. Walsh finally relented on the matter of what we will Call official documents a b & c. He reluctantly admitted that without producing them in court North could not receive a fair trial on the conspiracy counts inasmuch As it could be argued that those documents motivated his be Havior. Accordingly Walsh announced that he would move to drop those counts against North and satisfy himself with a dozen others such As shredding papers lying to congressmen that kind of thing. Now it is widely thought that Walsh has satisfied himself that he can distinguish Between official documents a b & a and official documents x y & z. These last one infers from the activity of the prosecutor Are either a not needed by North to effect his defense or b if needed can readily be produced by the executive without Hazard to the National Security. The Assumption is entirely mistaken. What will now happen is that Jim Fain Honor the Pef Emse wants 40 000pages of official documents North s lawyer Brendan Sullivan will tire Range of behaviour was motivated by ask not Only for documents x y & z but his belief that he was engaged in a presi All Over again for documents a b & c.  Enterprise of vital interest to the United states and that Only by consult his reasoning will be that North s ening these documents can a jury under stand the Frame of mind in which he operated. Now at this Point prosecutor Walsh is Likely to dig in his heels. And so is judge Gerhard Gesell. A screenwriter would Here intervene to note messes. Walsh and Gesell Are determined  so then let us suppose that judge be sell rules that documents a b & c will be sheltered but that documents x y & z will not be sheltered orders a trial North is had up and convicted. He appeals. The court of appeals then examines documents a b & c and rules that they do not have a direct enough bearing on the question of North s guilt or innocence and therefore he can proceed logo to jail. Or. The court of appeals can upset the verdict. This would put an end to the Case. And it would put an end to the Case without the necessity of a presidential Pardon. That would greatly please messes. Reagan and Bush inasmuch As it is Clear that they have come to believe that a forthright presidential Pardon granted ahead of All these proceedings would give the impression that the Par Doner was motivated by self serving instincts. The other route is to whittle away at the documents subpoenaed arguing their inadmissibility on National Security grounds As far As they can go. If there develops an impasse if let us say the executive Branch rules that documents x y & z Are also highly sensitive and therefore not available to the court then the Justice department can throw up its hands in despair and announce that to go Forward with the prosecution is now impossible. Now Here there Are a few Messy strands left because the mandate of the special prosecutor is Independent of that of the Justice department. But what can the special prosecutor in fact do if the executive clings to its insistence that the necessary documents affect the National Security and the courts Are unwilling to demand that they be submitted in 1974, the supreme court ruled against Richard Nixon. But it is Likely that the courts would overrule the executive in a criminal proceeding involving men clearly motivated by an understand ing that they were engaged in an act mandated by the executive and involving the National interest. Universal press Syndicate of Reagan s budget and let Bush take the fall when it comes to the budget democrats ought to be the Genie in the bottle and Grant George Bush his Dearest wish. They would prove the adage that the greatest curse is to get what you ask for. Won t happen obviously but Why not All that Malarkey about Congress sacred duty to save the Republic from the White House is nonsense. Presidential ballots Are the closest thing we have to National referendums. The country has voted against taxes in three straight elections. Not that we be Ever come right out in favor of starving children. The High priced flacks who package re publican candidates focus instead on furloughed rapists. But after eight years of Ronald Reagan s beg Garing the poor if we Don t know what we re doing it s time we Learned. Taking a Bush budget exactly As written would Cut through the camouflage. The numbers Reagan sent Congress last week were partly a bad cop set up. They left Bush some wiggle room to look Kinder and gentler by adding a Crumb or two for homeless environment and the like. But not enough to make a real difference. The Reagan budget also was based on the same Flim Flam that has characterized them All As David Stock Man first revealed. Bush will gratefully endorse its numbers cookery. Overall this latest forecast barely flirts with reality. It relies on $69 billion in social Security surplus to cover a huge Blob of red Ink. It revives Rosy scenario to insist that Alan Greenspan will slash interest rates while the Economy booms twice As fast As the Federal Reserve believes Safe. Its figures for bailing out savings and Loans and cleaning up nuclear wastes Are laughably Low. Bush will buy its Mambo jump secure in the knowledge congressional democrats will take him off the Hook. After Congress recoils in horror restores a few of the More callous human services cuts and takes the Edge off some unrealistic assumptions no one will have the slightest notion whose budget it is. That s the game Reagan who takes credit for All goodies and blame for nothing has played. He s shifted much of the tax Load from Rich to poor. The in creased and notoriously regressive social Security tax now funds almost As much of his spending As does income tax while most of us poor suckers bask in the delusion it s being stashed away in a vault for our retirement once Bush finishes his minor tinkering with the Reagan document Congress ought to stamp it approved without so much As a glance. It will be painful to watch As Many As one in four kids grow up in poverty to see environment and Edu cation further degraded to let social Security Trust funds cover Pentagon red Ink and to discover is. Scenario has horns toggled us once again. But after eight years one More should t kill us and we d finally be Clear on whom to blame. Given the wizardry with lights and mirrors of those White House or magicians that seems to be the Only Way to establish unmistakable guilt. Polls show most americans willing to pay for schools housing environmental clean up and deficit reduction but it s absurd to expect people to vote that Way when Snake Oil merchants insist we can have it All Tor tree. Democracy frequently Waits for a crisis before taking decisive action. Thanks to Reagan we be got the crisis. The problem is to get it out in the open an pinpoint where the Buck stops. Cox news service the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoon son this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no by the considered As representing the views of the Mars and stripes or the United states government