NATION : Thornburgh Testily Defends Role
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WASHINGTON — Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh defended his scuttling of a key Iran-Contra trial today, saying “I’ve got a job to do” in protecting national security secrets.
In a testy session with reporters, Thornburgh also said he would “go where the evidence leads” in the Housing and Urban Development Department scandal. He did not, however, respond to demands for an independent investigation of former HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr., who served in the Reagan Cabinet with Thornburgh.
Last week, a federal judge dismissed all Iran-Contra charges against Joseph F. Fernandez, the former top CIA official in Costa Rica. Thornburgh barred the use of some intelligence information at the Fernandez trial, although special Iran-Contra prosecutor Lawrence E. Walsh said it involved “fictional secrets” already known to the public.
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