On Second Thought...

By PAUL GRAY/

Some people in the State Department are quietly relieved that leaked audiotapes may unhinge the government's prosecution of Manuel Noriega. "The trial is going to be very messy," says one official at State. "The defense is going to ask for all sorts of sensitive information and force us to compromise security or endanger the case against Noriega. The primary goal was always to get him out of power. I don't see what we get out of getting him convicted." Such talk may fuel the rumor among Panamanians that the tapes were intentionally passed to CNN to torpedo the trial and get the government off the hook. State has formally denied the allegation.

With reporting by David E. Thigpen