Den of spies Reagan, Carter, and the secret history of the treason that stole the White House

Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign really did make a deal with Iran to delay the release of 52 American hostages until after the election, according to this labyrinthine investigation. Journalist Unger (American Kompromat) revisits the theory of a 1980 "October Surprise" plot, bringing to light new evidence of its veracity. He relies on claims made by Iranian arms dealers and an Israeli intelligence operative who alleged that they participated in negotiations between Reagan's campaign--led by campaign manager William J. Casey and running mate George H.W. Bush--and Iranian officials in Madrid and Paris. Previous investigators debunked these witnesses' claims by offering alibis establishing that Casey and Bush were elsewhere, but Unger pokes holes in the alibis, uncovering a smoking-gun cable from the U.S. embassy in Madrid that indicates Casey was indeed there at the time. Unger's narrative paints a colorful panorama of a multinational private intelligence network run by the shambolic spymaster Casey, who later became CIA director; it's full of skullduggery, including another alleged Casey-led plot to sabotage helicopters on the ill-fated American hostage-rescue mission. The account doubles as a journalistic picaresque, as Unger's reporting is impeded by groundless libel lawsuits and gutless editors (Newsweek comes in for particular scorn). The result is a persuasive affirmation of a shocking conspiracy theory. (Oct.)

A journalist argues that Jan. 6, 2021, wasn't the first instance of Republican treason. The term "October surprise" describes a spectacular act or revelation meant to capture the hearts and minds of undecided voters. Ronald Reagan's October surprise, by Unger's account, was never made public: his intermediaries negotiated a deal, working with Israel, to ensure that the Iranians would not free the U.S. embassy workers they took hostage in November 1979 and held for 444 days. The aim was to make Jimmy Carter's administration look feckless, and within minutes of being sworn in, Reagan announced that the hostages were freed, a seeming coincidence that in itself spoke of backroom bargains. "Carter had been told of clandestine dealings between Reagan campaign officials and the Iranians," writes Unger, but the president did not make sufficient hay out of acts that, Unger holds, were treasonous. The deal was orchestrated by former CIA executive William J. Casey and two Iranian arms dealers, but it had plenty of ancillary players. It was also, Unger argues, an open secret, even though Iran's deposed president, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, publicly revealed "that the Republican campaign was making a concerted effort to bar the hostages' release." It took 11 years for Congress to investigate; by that time Casey was dead, George H.W. Bush--also an actor in the proceedings--was in office, and other acts of Reagan administration criminality were well known. Still, Unger says with regret, Americans were little worked up by the persistent revelations of that despicable political maneuvering. Unger's book, which he has been working on for decades, comes late to the table, but it's welcome all the same, complete with its gloomy conclusion: "Most Americans did not know their past well enough to have forgotten it." A compelling account of political wrongdoing. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.