“Mr Karrubi agreed in the second Madrid meeting to cooperate with the Reagan campaign about the timing of any hostage release. In return, he was promised that the Reagan Administration, once in office, would return Iran’s frozen assets and help them acquire badly needed military equipment…”

“During my research, I spoke to several of the former hostages. I was deeply moved by the response of one in particular. After listening to the evidence, he said simply: ‘I don’t want to believe it. It’s too painful to think about it.’ Painful it is. But the rest of us are obliged to think about it. Hard.”

Gary Sick — Retired Naval Captain who served on Ford’s, Carter’s, and Reagan’s National Security Council

Vice President George H. W. Bush and other VIPs wait to welcome the hostages home

Harvard’s Law Professor Alan Dershowitz was explaining the ‘Logan Act’ and how it may apply to Michael Flynn’s discussion of sanctions with a Russian ambassador before taking office. Out of the blue, Professor Alan Dershowitz made an astonishing statement regarding the 1980 US Presidential campaign. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

Harvard’s Law Professor Alan Dershowitz explains that the ‘Logan Act’ has never been applied to anyone. Dershowitz suggests that if the ‘Logan Act’ had been applied in the past, Jimmy Carter and Jesse Jackson would share a jail cell. Then he stated the following:

“Ronald Reagan made a deal with the Iranians about the hostages release before he was elected…”

Professor Alan Dershowitz seems to consider this kind of political interference in the US foreign policy as perfectly normal. I am not convinced that the former hostages — and their family — share his expert point of view.

The October Surprise conspiracy

The October Surprise conspiracy theory refers to an alleged plot to influence the outcome of the 1980 United States presidential election, contested between incumbent president Jimmy Carter (D–GA) and opponent former California governor Ronald Reagan (R–CA).

One of the leading national issues during that year was the release of 52 Americans being held hostage in Iran since November 4, 1979. Reagan won the election. On the day of his inauguration—in fact, 20 minutes after he concluded his inaugural address—the Islamic Republic of Iran announced the release of the hostages.

The timing gave rise to an allegation that representatives of Reagan’s presidential campaign had conspired with Iran to delay the release until after the election to thwart President Carter from pulling off an “October surprise”.

According to the allegation, the Reagan Administration rewarded Iran for its participation in the plot by supplying Iran with weapons via Israel and by unblocking Iranian government monetary assets in US banks.

After twelve years of mixed media attention, both houses of the US Congress held separate inquiries and concluded that the allegations lacked supporting documentation.

Nevertheless, several individuals—most notably former Iranian President Abulhassan Banisadr, former Naval intelligence officer and U.S. National Security Council member Gary Sick and former Reagan/Bush campaign staffer and White House analyst Barbara Honegger — have stood by the allegation. [Wikipedia]

The Election Story of the Decade — NYT

Gary Sick wrote an editorial for The New York Times and a book (October Surprise) on the subject. Sick wrote that in October 1980 officials in Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign including future CIA Director, William Casey, made a secret deal with Influential Iranian clerics. [I recommend reading this story.]

Sick’s credibility was boosted by the fact that he was a retired Naval Captain, served on Ford’s, Carter’s, and Reagan’s National Security Council, and held high positions with many prominent organizations; moreover, he had authored a book recently on US-Iran relations (All Fall Down).

Iran would delay the release of the American hostages until after the election and, in return for this, the United States would arrange for Israel to ship weapons to Iran. And of course, we know how that one turned out… It is called the “Iran-Contras Scandal”.

Alan Dershowitz: We Now Have A Problem Of Ego Vs. National Security

Harvard’s Alan Dershowitz joins Morning Joe to discuss Michael Flynn’s discussion of sanctions with a Russian ambassador before taking office. Alan Dershowitz appears at 1′ 30″

REFERENCES

October Surprise conspiracy theory — Wikipedia

The Election Story of the Decade — Gary Sick