World Notes NICARAGUA

During an otherwise routine press conference, Speaker of the House Jim Wright said last week he had "received clear testimony" that the CIA helped orchestrate anti-Sandinista demonstrations in Nicaragua to provoke the government of President Daniel Ortega Saavedra. Republican Congressmen pounced, demanding that the House Ethics Committee investigate whether the Texas Democrat had violated rules barring disclosure of testimony given in closed hearings.

Wright, it develops, was the victim of a trap laid by his longtime enemy Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams. The plan was hatched when Wright criticized CIA covert actions during a meeting with contra leaders two weeks ago. His comments were passed on to Abrams, who leaked them to the ultra- conservative Washington Times. It was a Times reporter who initially questioned Wright about CIA activities.

In Managua, Wright's remark enraged the Nicaraguan opposition, which claimed that Ortega would use the controversy to justify political repression. Said an unrepentant Wright: "The CIA was created to gather intelligence, not to make policy. That is the role of Congress."