Hostage Negotiation

“Gary Sick, a former Iran specialist on the National Security Council, was alleging that during the 1980 presidential campaign, while more than 50 Americans were being held hostage in Iran, Ronald Reagan’s team made a backroom arms deal with the new Islamic Republic to delay the hostages’ release until after the election. Carter, bedeviled by the international fiasco, would be denied the narrative he needed to save his sinking chances—an October surprise, that is—and Reagan could announce the Americans’ freedom just after he was sworn in (which he went on to do) … Craig Unger’s career was nearly destroyed when he investigated a possible election conspiracy. Three decades later, he says he’s got the goods.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Journalist Who Cried Treason. (I guess it’s refreshing that most of today’s nefarious political plots are carried out right in the open.)