Iran-Contra Probers Want to Verify Casey’s Condition

The congressional committees looking into the Iran- contra scandal want to verify independently that former CIA Director William J. Casey is too sick to talk to investigators, Sen. Warren B. Rudman (R-N.H.), vice chairman of the Senate panel, said today.

The committees are working on the assumption that Casey will not be able to testify when hearings into the scandal start on May 5, and have no indication that his medical condition is anything but grave, sources said.

Casey resigned as CIA director in February, two months after surgery for brain cancer.

Rudman said it is important to verify his condition since many people believe that he could provide important testimony on the sale of U.S. arms to Iran and efforts to aid the Nicaraguan contra rebels.

“The record should be historically correct,” Rudman said. “The committee’s taken no official action but I expect at some point there’ll be a discreet inquiry made in some way.

“I don’t think anybody has any doubt (that Casey is seriously ill) but I think . . . since Casey potentially is such an important witness . . . there ought to be some corroboration,” he said.

A source close to the Senate committee said the panel “has a responsibility . . . to verify Mr. Casey’s inability to appear at public hearings and we will carry out that responsibility in a sensitive manner that will preserve the Casey family’s right to privacy.”

“There is certainly no intention of adding to the family’s anguish,” the source said.