 In the mid-to-late 1970s, several books by former CIA operatives helped trigger and fuel what became known as the U.S. Senate Church Committee hearings that resulted in legislation limiting the power and secrecy of the CIA.McCarry had been "outed"—publicly identified as a secret CIA operative—in 1975, but was never called to testify.McCarry was an editor-at-large for "National Geographic" and contributed pieces to "The New York Times", "The Wall Street Journal", "The Washington Post", the "Saturday Evening Post," and other national publications.