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.)