Can former National Security Adviser John Poindexter accomplish what Oliver North could not: force Ronald Reagan or George Bush into a courtroom grilling about the Iran-contra scandal? Last week Poindexter's lawyer, Frederick Robinson, insisted that Reagan had ordered the admiral to tell Congress that the NSC staff was not violating restrictions on U.S. aid to the contras at a time when, in fact, it was. He also contended that Poindexter had briefed Bush about each White House meeting on Iran-contra that the then Vice President had missed. If so, Bush's knowledge might be far more extensive than he has admitted.
Federal...