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Debategate or briefing-gate was a political scandal affecting the administration of
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
; it took place in the final days of the 1980 presidential election. Reagan's team acquired President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
's briefing papers, classified top secret, that Carter used in preparation for the October 28, 1980 debate with Reagan. The briefing papers were never specified to be either vital strategy memos or just routine position papers. This leak of campaign papers was not divulged to the public until late June 1983, after Laurence Barrett published ''Gambling with History: Reagan in the White House'', an in-depth account of the Reagan administration's first two years.


1980 presidential debate

The
League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...
organized two debates of the 1980 U.S. presidential election. The Republican nominee Ronald Reagan participated in both debates. Independent candidate
John B. Anderson John Bayard Anderson (February 15, 1922 – December 3, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. A member of ...
only participated in the first debate, while the Democratic nominee and incumbent President Jimmy Carter only participated in the second debate. The first debate took place on September 21, 1980, and the second debate took place on October 28, 1980. Key aides involved in the second Reagan debate preparation were
James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House chief of staff and 67th United States secretary ...
,
David Gergen David Richmond Gergen (born May 9, 1942) is an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He is currently a senior political ...
, and David Stockman. They had access to briefing papers from the Carter campaign. Morton Kondracke, ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'', 18 July 1983
Debategate
/ref> The importance of these documents is still in question. At the time the second debate took place, Reagan was ahead in the polls with 43 percent to Carter's 37 percent with 11 percent of voters undecided. The stakes were high for this debate, especially since Carter had the possibility of an October surprise, such as the release of the hostages in Iran. House Speaker
Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...
said that the debate ultimately did not affect the outcome of the election, arguing that an unpopular Carter would have lost even if he had been seen to "win" the debate.


Investigation

The leak of the campaign papers first came to public attention in June 1983, with the publication of Laurence Barrett's ''Gambling with History: Reagan in the White House'', an in-depth account of the Reagan administration's first two years. Comments on the matter by David Stockman, made at an Optimist Club lunch in Cassopolis, Michigan, on the day of the debate, noted that in assisting with Reagan's preparations, Stockman had had access to a "pilfered" copy of Carter's briefing book; these remarks had been reported only in local newspapers. The publication of Barrett's book saw efforts by Jody Powell and
Patrick Caddell Patrick Hayward Caddell (May 19, 1950 – February 16, 2019) was an American public opinion pollster and a political film consultant who served in the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, Carter administration. He worked for Democratic Party (United ...
to push the issue onto the press agenda, ultimately leading to Reagan asking the Justice Department to "monitor" the issue. The president denied having any knowledge about briefing papers his campaign was thought to have obtained. An investigation was then launched by the U.S. House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service's Subcommittee on Human Resources under the chairmanship of Donald J. Albosta (D-MI). This produced a 2,400-page report in May 1984.
James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House chief of staff and 67th United States secretary ...
swore under oath that he had received the briefing book from
William Casey William Joseph Casey (March 13, 1913 – May 6, 1987) was an American lawyer who was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987. In this capacity he oversaw the entire United States Intelligence Community and personally directed the ...
, Reagan's campaign manager, but Casey, then campaign manager, later
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
director, vehemently denied this. David Stockman, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, admitted using the Carter material while helping Reagan prepare for the debate. Stockman said the documents obtained were just position papers, not in question-and-answer format. Frank Hodsoll, also a member of the debate team, said that they were in Q&A form. The investigation turned up hundreds of pages of documents from the Carter campaign in Stockman's files as well as in Reagan's campaign archives at Stanford University's Hoover Institute. One document, an itinerary for Carter during the week prior to Election Day, had "report from White House mole" written on it. This seemed to confirm author Laurence Barrett's conclusion in his book that the material had been stolen. But '' U.S. News & World Report'' indicated that the document in question had been volunteered by someone working for Carter. Other papers were turned in to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' by a collector of political memorabilia who, in October 1980, had exhumed them from a dumpster behind Reagan headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The press speculated that the Reagan campaign had been concerned that Carter would pull an October surprise during the campaign—cutting a deal with the
Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
for the release of the 52 hostages held for over a year by
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, a bombshell that some believed might have sent Carter back to the White House for four more years. ''Newsweek'' wondered whether a clandestine operation involving ex-CIA agents had been undertaken by the Reagan team to keep close tabs on the Carter campaign. This was supported by ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' in its July 25, 1983, issue. According to that report, William Casey brought in former agents of both the CIA and the FBI to gather information from colleagues who were still with that agency. Jimmy Carter complained that the pilfered documents revealed the "essence" of his campaign, implying that his reelection bid had been done great harm when they fell into Republican hands. The matter was never resolved as both the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
and a congressional subcommittee reporting in May 1984 failed to determine how or through whom the briefing book came to the Reagan campaign. The
Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
, in closing its investigation, cited "the professed lack of memory or knowledge on the part of those in possession of the documents". Still, it said the contradictions between Reagan aides like Baker and Casey "could be explained by differences in recollection or interpretation". In a case brought by John F. Banzhaf III, an order by a federal judge that the Justice Department appoint a special prosecutor was overturned on appeal in July 1984. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported the Reagan campaign headquarters conducted a data-gathering operation to collect inside information on Carter foreign policy and used a number of former CIA officials in the effort. It said Stefan Halper, a campaign aide who handled communications for Bush and provided news updates and policy ideas to the traveling Reagan party, was in charge of the operation. Halper called the report "just absolutely untrue".


Aftermath

In 2004 and again in 2005, Carter accused columnist
George Will George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American libertarian conservative writer and political commentator. He writes columns for ''The Washington Post'' on a regular basis and provides commentary for '' NewsNation''. In 1986, ''The Wall ...
of giving the briefing book to the Reagan campaign. In a 2005 syndicated column, Will called his role in Reagan's debate preparation "inappropriate", given his position as a columnist, but denied any role in stealing the briefing book. In his column, Will quoted from a letter he had written to Carter privately: "My cursory glance at it convinced me that it was a crashing bore and next to useless—for you
arter Arter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Harry Arter * Jared Maurice Arter * Kingsley Arter Taft * Philip and Uriah Arter, after whom Philip and Uriah Arter Farm is named * Robert Arter * Solomon Arter, after whom Solomon Art ...
or for anyone else". In response to Will's column, Carter wrote a letter to ''The Washington Post'' retracting his accusations. Carter apologized to Will for "any incorrect statement that I have ever made about his role in the use of my briefing book.... I have never thought Mr. Will took my book, that the outcome of the debate was damaging to my campaign or that Mr. Will apologized to me". In his 2009 campaign examination ''Rendezvous with Destiny'', Reagan biographer and historian Craig Shirley wrote that the briefing papers were passed to Casey by Paul Corbin, an aide from
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
's failed primary campaign. According to the book, the Kennedy family and campaign workers were embittered by Carter's treatment of Kennedy's challenge in the 1980 Democratic primary, and Corbin used connections in the White House to steal the papers in revenge. Shirley also contended that the contents of the briefing book were a compilation of Reagan's earlier speeches. Shirley concluded that the theft had no effect on the race, even though Carter continued to blame his defeat on the stolen papers.{{cite news , authorlink=Craig Shirley , work=
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
, date=15 October 2009 , url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28317.html , title=New Book Pins 'debategate' on Democrat , first=Craig , last=Shirley


See also

*
Killing Reagan (film) ''Killing Reagan'' is a 2016 American television drama film directed by Rod Lurie and written by Eric Simonson. It is based on the 2015 book of the same name by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. The film stars Tim Matheson, Cynthia Nixon, ...
* List of scandals with "-gate" suffix


References


External links

* U.S. House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, " Unauthorized transfers of nonpublic information during the 1980 presidential election", US GPO, 17 May 1984 (both part
The Eighties Club on Debategate
*"Public Papers of the Presidents." National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. . * John G. Roberts files on Debategate from the Reagan administration Political scandals in the United States Reagan administration controversies 1980 United States presidential election 1983 controversies in the United States 1983 scandals 1983 in American politics Election scandals in the United States June 1983 in the United States Presidency of Jimmy Carter