The Nation - News from Aug. 11, 1989

An Aug. 23 court session regarding the Iran-Contra criminal case against a former CIA station chief should be open to the public, prosecutors said. In court papers, the office of independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh said the legal arguments before the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals may determine whether Joseph F. Fernandez will be put on trial. Also at stake is the ability of Walsh’s office to conduct its work free from interference by the Justice Department, the prosecutors’ papers said. The Justice Department, over the objections of the independent counsel, is taking legal questions concerning classified information in the Fernandez case to the appeals court in Richmond, Va.