An Interview with CIA Director William Casey

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In the inner sanctum of his office in Langley, Va., CIA Director William Casey was interviewed last Friday by TIME Assistant Managing Editor Henry . Muller and Correspondent Bruce van Voorst. Under the ground rules, he refused to discuss sources or methods of covert operations. Repeatedly disclaiming CIA involvement or even knowledge about much of what went on, he defended what he insists was the agency's narrow role in helping the National Security Council.

Q. Why don't you tell all at this point?

A. I told all to the committees.

Q. Why can't that be made public?

A. As I understand it, the problem is they don't want it made public. I told it all. And I want to tell it all.

Q. Do you know it all?

A. I told all I know. I don't know all. I think I know the dealing on the American side, and I talked about it. The dealing that took place in Europe is very shadowy. Sure, we pick up information. I know a great deal about the arms dealers around the world. I don't know all about this operation though.

Q. What are the key things that you don't know?

A. I don't know everything that occurred on the Iranian side among and between the people who were working with the Iranians. I don't know everything the NSC did. The NSC was operating this thing; we were in a support mode.

Q. Do you know about the diversion of funds to the contras?

A. I don't know anything about diversion of funds. What you've got to understand is we were barred from being involved with the contras, and we kept away from that.

Q. Didn't the CIA keep tabs on the financing of the contras?

A. We know in general what the contras are doing, what their movements were, but we didn't know and they weren't telling us about their funding and their procurement.

Q. Did you notice an increase in weapons they were getting?

A. We noticed they were getting weapons. They weren't telling us.

Q. Do you have any evidence that the money from the Iran arms sales reached the contras?

A. No. They were buying and they were paying. We didn't know where it came from. They were out raising money. We knew they were getting contributions. That was widely known. What those contributions were, where they came from, we didn't have any information.

Q. You're sure that not a nickel of that diverted money that Ed Meese is talking about ever reached the contras?

A. Not a nickel of the money that we had reached them. The money that reached them was provided before Congress tied our hands. The money that came to us is strictly accounted for and was applied to the weapons. What happened to the other money -- the Attorney General hasn't made known what he knows about this diversion.

Q. Did you believe that someone was making a profit on the arms sales?

A. Well, yeah, sure I assumed somebody was making a profit. We didn't know what the profit was or where it went or who had it.

Q. You must have the contras penetrated from A to Z, and you were still not able to track the funding?

A. We don't think the contras knew much about the funding. We think that all was done at a higher level.

Q. You were alerted by Roy Furmark?