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But if the defendants have their way, the Iran-contra case will never come to trial. Defense attorneys will try to undermine Walsh's investigation from two angles. In January a federal appeals court ruled that the law authorizing independent counsels is unconstitutional. Walsh is protected by a backup appointment from Attorney General Edwin Meese. But the three months' worth of evidence that Walsh gathered before Meese's appointment could be ruled inadmissible if the Supreme Court strikes down the independent-counsel law.
A legal challenge on immunity could also lead to a protracted court battle. Poindexter, North and Hakim testified before Congress under grants of limited immunity, preventing Walsh from using any of their testimony against them. All but one of the 29 attorneys on Walsh's team avoided TV, the radio, newspapers and magazines when immunized testimony was being aired or discussed; the exception, designated as the "tainted" prosecutor, was assigned to steer the others away from trouble. Nevertheless, the defense will argue that the indictment was affected by the forbidden testimony. The burden of proof is on Walsh. "It's not just a matter of proving that the prosecutors were in hermetically sealed isolation chambers for the last year," says Philip Lacovara, a member of the Watergate prosecution team, "but that the grand jurors were in the same isolation chamber. That's not easy." If Walsh loses that challenge, the entire indictment could be dismissed. The arguments could drag on for a year or more. By the time North and his associates ever face a jury, Ronald Reagan may be long gone from the White House.
CHART: TEXT NOT AVAILABLE
CREDIT: TIME Chart by Cynthia Davis
CAPTION: THE INDICTMENT
DESCRIPTION: Summary of charges against Iran-contra suspects Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord and Albert Hakim; color illustrations: map of Iran backed by missiles; three men in see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hear-no- evil pose stand at papershredder; three men holding dollar sign.