Senate unit gets counsel in its inquiry on Casey

July 28, 1981

The Senate Intelligence Committee named Fred Thompson, A republican counsel during the Watergate hearings, to head a stepped-up investigation of embattled CIA Director William Casey. Sources said Mr. Casey will be invited to testify before the panel, which is examining the his past business dealings.

Additional doubt concerning Casey surfaced in a report by Newsweek magazine that he approved a CIA operation to overthrow the Libyan leader, Muammar al-Qaddafi. It said the House Intelligence Committee was concerned that the plan implied the agency intended to assassinate the Libyan leader. The White House termed the report "incorrect."