United States v. North
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
708 F. Supp. 375 (1988)
After Congress enacted the Boland Amendments limiting presidentially authorized military assistance to Nicaraguan Contras, the Iran-Contra affair exposed a secret arms sale to Iran with proceeds redirected to the Contras. National Security Officer Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North (defendant) and others were indicted for defrauding the government by concealing profits and information from Congress related to their Contra support. North moved to dismiss, arguing the Boland Amendments unconstitutionally intruded on the president's foreign-affairs powers, contending that if the statute was unconstitutional, his actions did not interfere with any lawful government function.
Whether claims that statutes are unconstitutional based on separation-of-powers issues will be considered if the facts show the affected branches of government acted in agreement.