CIA Director William Casey Dies Before Testifying on Iran-Contra Role

CIA Director William Casey dies at age 74 from nervous-system lymphoma, taking critical knowledge of the Iran-Contra scandal to his grave without ever testifying before Congress. Casey dies less than 24 hours after former colleague Richard Secord testifies that Casey supported the illegal aiding of Nicaraguan Contra rebels, raising questions about the full extent of CIA involvement in the scheme.

The timing of Casey’s medical crisis was extraordinarily suspicious. On December 15, 1986—one day before Casey was scheduled to testify before Congress about Iran-Contra—he suffered two seizures and was hospitalized. Three days later, Casey underwent surgery for a previously undiagnosed brain tumor. The seizures occurred at the precise moment Congress was poised to question the CIA director about his role in illegal arms sales to Iran and covert support for the Contras.

Casey resigned on January 29, 1987, incapacitated by the brain tumor. His death four months later ensures that crucial questions about CIA involvement in Iran-Contra remain unanswered. As Senator Patrick Leahy noted after Casey’s death: “There are some things about this scandal that he takes to the grave.”

The Tower Commission Report concluded that Casey, who supported the Iran-Contra arrangement, should have taken over the operation, made the president aware of the risks, and notified Congress as legally required. However, Casey’s role in or knowledge of the scandal’s full scope was never clarified due to his sudden illness and subsequent death. Independent counsel Lawrence Walsh’s investigation was significantly hampered by the loss of testimony from the one person who could have definitively answered whether the CIA formally sanctioned the illegal operations.