The 1980 presidential campaign between Democratic President Jimmy Carter and Republican challenger Ronald Reagan became the subject of a political controversy after it was revealed that Reagan’s campaign had obtained confidential materials prepared for Carter ahead of their nationally televised debate on October 28, 1980. The materials included briefing and strategy documents intended to help Carter prepare for his encounter with Reagan, which took place one week before the election.

The controversy did not become public until 1983, more than two years after Reagan took office. Congressional investigations examined how Carter campaign documents reached Reagan’s campaign and whether they were improperly used in preparing Reagan for the debate. The matter became widely known as “Debategate.” Reagan campaign officials acknowledged having access to Carter materials, but accounts differed over who obtained them and how they entered the campaign. Investigators examined several possible sources, and the question of precisely how the documents were originally acquired remained unresolved.

The House Subcommittee on Human Resources conducted an investigation and issued a report in 1984. The investigation documented the possession and circulation of Carter campaign material within Reagan’s organization but did not establish a definitive chain showing who initially supplied the material. The FBI also investigated aspects of the controversy, generating records that later became available through the Freedom of Information Act and other government disclosure channels.

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The documents collected in this archive relate to those investigations and the broader controversy surrounding the transfer of Carter campaign materials to the Reagan campaign. They provide a documentary record of government efforts to determine what happened, who had access to the material, and whether federal laws had been violated. The historical record established that Carter campaign documents reached Reagan campaign personnel; the unresolved issue was how the material left the Carter operation and initially reached Reagan’s campaign.

Document Archive

CIA Documents – F-2014-02258 Release Package [45 Pages, 9.2MB] – Note: There are additional documents on the CIA’s electronic reading room previously released. Those links are in the FOIA response letter.