After the Carter Administration failed to secure the release of American hostages held by Iran, Carter lost the 1980 election to Reagan. Following this, evidence emerged, particularly during the Iran-Contra investigations, that Republicans and CIA operatives, including George H.W. Bush, William Casey and Robert Gates, had sabotaged Carter's negotiations with the Iranians and made their own deal for hostage release. Thus, the phrase 'October Surprise' was coined. The evidence and allegations mounted and eventually caused a crisis of legitimacy, and so a 'bi-partisan' Commission was appointed to 'investigate' the matter. It was chaired by Lee Hamilton, and in January, 1993 a report was released that pretended to 'debunk' the evidence that the October Surprise operation had in fact occurred. Investigative journalist/author Robert Parry, who had investigated these things at the time, has written an account of how the Commission operated under the direction of Hamilton.