Texas Ex Lieutenant. The government says the political guide sabotaged the Iranian hostage talks to stop Jimmy Carter’s re-election

A former Texas lieutenant governor has pleaded guilty to allegedly helping a political mentor organize a tour of the Middle East to sabotage then-President Jimmy Carter’s negotiations on the Iran hostage crisis – and to support Ronald Reagan’s bid for the White House.

With Carter, 98, now in hospice care, Ben Barnes, 84, he told the New York Times He wants to reveal his role in the secret operation.

“History should know this happened,” Barnes told the Times. “I think it’s very important and I think knowing the end is near for President Carter puts it on my mind more and more.”

In his interview, Barnes recounted how the nation was on edge as Carter tried to negotiate the release of 52 Americans who had been captured in 1979 by a group of Iranian military cadets.

With the 1980 election approaching during the 444-day incident, the outcome of the crisis was seen as the turning point of Carter’s presidency.

But Barnes alleged that the former governor. John Connally Jr. was committed to stalling those negotiations, claiming that Connally invited him on a trip to several capitals in the Middle East to urge leaders not to release the hostages because Reagan would offer a better deal, the Times reported.

Barnes’ claims echo the so-called October surprise theory, in which Carter supporters have long claimed that pro-Reagan agents secretly influenced the outcome of the 1980 election through the Iran hostage crisis.

The Times reported that Connally consulted Barnes, who at 26 became the youngest speaker in the Texas House of Representatives, from Connally.

And although both began their careers as Democrats, they have gained prominence as influencers in the Republican Party.

According to government records, flight records show that Barnes accompanied Connally on July 18, 1980, on a flight from Houston to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel, the Times reported.

During the tour, Barnes alleged that Connally led leaders in the states to believe that the deadlock situation should not be resolved until after Election Day.

Barnes recalled Connally saying, “Look, Ronald Reagan is going to be elected president and you need to get the word out to Iran that they’re going to make a better deal with Reagan than Carter.” “It would be very smart to pass the word on to the Iranians to wait until this general election is over,” he said.

The two returned to Texas on August 3. 11, 1980, and the following month, Barnes claimed they met William Casey, Reagan’s campaign chairman and future CIA director, at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport to report on their flight.

Flight records confirm that Casey flew to Dallas on September 3rd. 10, The New York Times reported.

Barnes told The Times he initially did not know what the trip with Connally was and why he had been invited.

But he told the Times he believed Connally had finished the job in an effort to secure the seat of “Secretary of State or Defense” in the Reagan administration.

Connally, who died in 1993, was offered the position of Secretary of Energy, but he refused.

While four other sources Barnes told his secret to confirmed to The Times that the details have remained constant over the decades, the veracity of the allegations is still up in the air.

Connally’s family told the Times that they do not believe he passed any messages to the Iranians.

Casey, who also died and previously faced scrutiny over the October surprise theory, has long maintained that he did not sabotage the Carter campaign.

Neither man has been charged with any wrongdoing.

Barnes told The Times that he wanted to set things right after Carter was accepted into hospice care.

“I just want history to reflect that Carter got a bit of a bad deal on the hostages,” Barnes said. He didn’t have a fighting chance with these hostages who were still in the embassy in Iran.