in Paris during the night of october 18-19, 1980, arriving in Paris at 10 AM in the
morning of October 19, local time. He may also have stopped in one of the New York
airports. Rupp has told journalists that although he is not sure exactly who flew in his
plane, he 's "100% certain" that he saw William Casey on the tarmac of Le Bourget after
his arrival. Rupp is also "98% certain" that he also saw George Bush at the same time and
place. At other times Rupp has been "99.9%" certain that he saw Bush at Le Bourget that
day.
According to Gary Sick, "at least five of the sources who say they were in Paris in
connection with these meetings insist that George Bush was present for at least one
meeting. Three of the sources say that they saw him there." [fn 41]
Bush has heatedly denied that he was in Paris at this time, and has said that he personally
did not negotiate with Khomeini envoys. But he has generally avoided a blanket denial
that the campaign of which he was a principal engaged in surreptitious dealings with the
Khomeini mullahs.
Bush's alibi for October 18-October 19, 1980 has always appeared dubious. There is in
fact a period of 21 or 22 hours in which his whereabouts cannot be conclusively proven.
According to Bush's campaign records, he was in Philadelphia on October 18, and his last
event of the day was a speech at Widener University in Delaware County that began at
about 8:40 PM. After the speech, he was scheduled to fly to Washington; the next event
on his schedule was an address to the Zionist Organization of America at the Capital
Hilton Hotel in downtown Washington at 7 PM on October 19. In the meantime he would
rest at his campaign residence at 4429 Lowell Street in Washington.
Bush staffer Peter Hart has claimed that Bush arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in the
Maryland suburbs of Washington on the night of October 19 and then proceeded to his
campaign residence. Secret Service records say that Bush landed at Washington National
Airport in northern Virginia at 9:25 PM. The Secret Service records are themselves
suspect in that they were filed 12 days later. (One thinks of the undated combat report of
Bush's mission from the San Jacinto.) This is the same airport and about the same time
mentioned by Rupp in his account of his departure for Paris.
There is some indication that a Bush double may have made an appearance at the Howard
Johnson Motel in Cheshire, Pennsylvania where Bush was staying. According to the
motel manager, Bush did not check out of his establishment until after 11 PM that night,
which cointradicts both Hart and the Secret Service records.
There are some Secret Service logs that indicate something about Bush visiting Chevy
Chase Country Club in suburban Maryland between 10:30 AM and 11:56 AM on the
morning of October 19, but this evidence is highly suspect. The records in question
appear to have been filled out by an advance man from Bush's political staff, not a Secret
Service agent. The documents are dated one week after the events in question. Parts of
the documentation have been heavily censored and "redacted." An investigative journalist
was unable to find anyone among the personnel of the country club who could confirm