List of federal political scandals in the United States
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This article provides a list of
political scandal In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, unet ...
s that involve officials from the government of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, sorted from oldest to most recent.


Scope and organization of political scandals

This article is organized by presidential terms in order, older to recent, and then divided into scandals of the federal Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government. Members of both parties are listed under the term of the president in office at the time the scandal took place, even though they may not be connected with the presiding president. In this article, the term "
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...
" (a person who is professionally involved in politics) includes not only those elected, but also party officials, candidates for office, their staffs and appointees. Please note that every president directly selects, appoints or hires several thousand people. Each of them selects thousands more. Private citizens should only be mentioned when they are closely linked to the scandal or politician, such as
Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
. This list also does not include crimes that occur outside the politician's tenure (such as before or after his term in office) unless they specifically stem from acts made while in office and discovered later. Scandal is defined as "loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety". Scandals are separate from 'controversies', (which implies two differing points of view) and 'unpopularity'. Many decisions are controversial, many decisions are unpopular, that alone does not make them scandals. Breaking the law is a scandal. The finding of a court is the sole method used to determine a violation of law, but it is not the sole method of determining a scandal. Also included as scandals are politicians who resign, quit, run, or commit suicide while being investigated or threatened with investigation. Notoriety is a major determinant of a scandal, that is, the amount of press dedicated to it. Misunderstandings, breaches of ethics, unproven crimes or cover-ups may or may not result in inclusion depending on the standing of the accused, the amount of publicity generated, and the seriousness of the crime, if any. Drunk driving may be a conviction, but is usually too minor and too common to mention unless there are multiple convictions and/or jail time. Given the political nature of Congress in which the leading party has determining power, politicians who are rebuked, denounced, censured, admonished, condemned, suspended, reprimanded, found in contempt, found to have acted improperly, or used poor judgement are ''not'' included unless the scandal is exceptional or leads to expulsion or conviction.


Government under the Articles of Confederation (1777–1789)

* Thomas Conway and
Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battl ...
created a movement or conspiracy, known as the
Conway Cabal The Conway Cabal was a group of senior Continental Army officers in late 1777 and early 1778 who aimed to have George Washington replaced as commander-in-chief of the Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was named after Brigadier Gene ...
, to remove
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
as Commander of the Continental Army. (1777–1778) * Silas Deane was appointed by the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
to be Ambassador to France. He was accused of mismanagement and treason. As he was attempting to clear himself of the charges, he died suddenly. The charges were eventually reversed or dropped. (1777)


George Washington administrations (1789–1797)


Legislative branch

* Senator
William Blount William Blount (March 26, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention o ...
(Democratic-Republican-TN) was expelled from the Senate for trying to aid the British in a takeover of
West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...
. (1797)


John Adams administration (1797–1801)


Executive branch

* The
XYZ Affair The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the presidency of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the United States and Republican France that led to the Quasi-War. The name derives from the subs ...
was the French seizure of over 300 US ships and demands for bribes and apologies, which led to a
Quasi-War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...
causing the US Congress to issue the famous phrase, "Millions for defense, sir, but not one cent for tribute!". Real war was averted by treaty. (1798–1800)


Legislative branch

*
Matthew Lyon Matthew Lyon (July 14, 1749 – August 1, 1822) was an Irish-born American printer, farmer, soldier and politician, who served as a United States representative from both Vermont and Kentucky. Lyon represented Vermont in Congress from 1797 ...
(Democratic-Republican KY) was the first Congressman recommended for censure for spitting on Ralph Griswold (Federalist-CT). The censure failed to pass. Also found guilty of violating
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
's Alien and Sedition Acts and sentenced to four months in jail, during which he was re-elected. (1798)


Thomas Jefferson administrations (1801–1809)


Executive branch

* General
James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, bu ...
was appointed to be Governor of the upper
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...
. He then conspired with Spain to get Kentucky to secede from the Union in order to allow shipping on the Mississippi to reach New Orleans. (1787–1811) *
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
and the New Empire (Southwest) Burr conspiracy (1804–1807) – Burr allegedly tried to seize a large part of the Louisiana Purchase and establish his own country. He was arrested for treason, but was acquitted for lack of evidence. (1807) * Aaron Burr dueled with
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...
. Hamilton died of wounds received during the duel. (1804)


Judicial branch

* Samuel Chase, the Supreme Court Justice appointed by
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
, was impeached for political favoritism and acquitted in 1805. * John Pickering, a federal judge appointed by
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
, was impeached and convicted in absentia by the US Senate for drunkenness and use of profanity on the bench. (1804) * Benjamin Sebastian US Court of Appeals Judge, was accused in the Spanish Conspiracy, of being a paid agent of Spain. He resigned in disgrace. (1806)


James Monroe administrations (1817–1825)


Legislative branch

* Corrupt Bargain was a supposed bargain by
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...
with
Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seven ...
. (1824)


Andrew Jackson administrations (1829–1837)


Executive branch

* Samuel Swartwout was appointed by President
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
to the New York City Collector's Office. At the end of his term he had embezzled $1.225 million in customs receipts and used the money to purchase land. He fled to Europe to avoid prosecution. * Margaret O'Neill Eaton, the wife of Secretary of War John H. Eaton, was a central figure in the
Petticoat Affair The Petticoat affair (also known as the Eaton affair) was a political scandal involving members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet and their wives, from 1829 to 1831. Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, these wome ...
which involved accusations that she had engaged in an extramarital affair, and her social ostracism by the wives of other Cabinet members led by
Floride Calhoun Floride Bonneau Calhoun (née Colhoun; February 15, 1792 – July 25, 1866) was the wife of U.S. politician John C. Calhoun. She is best known for her leading role in the Petticoat affair, which occurred during her husband's service as v ...
, the wife of Vice President
John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
.


Legislative branch

* Robert Potter North Carolina Congressman, resigned from Congress after castrating two men he believed were having an affair with his wife. (1831) Later, in North Carolina, he was expelled from its legislature for cheating at cards or for pulling a gun and a knife during a card game. (1835)


John Tyler administration (1841–1845)


Legislative branch

* Charles F. Mitchell (R-NY) US Representative from the 33rd District, was convicted of forgery, sentenced to one year in prison and fined, though he was paroled early due to poor health. (1841)


Zachary Taylor administration (1849–1850)


Executive branch

*
George W. Crawford George Walker Crawford (December 22, 1798 – July 27, 1872) was a licensed attorney turned politician from Columbia County, Georgia. Crawford was appointed attorney general for the state in 1827, by Governor John Forsyth, serving in that capac ...
(Whig-GA), Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
(Whig), was the center of the Galphin Affair land scandal with the help of Reverdy Johnson (Whig) Attorney General and William M. Meredith (Whig) Secretary of the Treasury, in which Crawford defrauded the federal government of $191,353. (1849)


Franklin Pierce administration (1853-1857)


Legislative branch

*
Preston Brooks Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was an American politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving from 1853 until his resignation in July 1856 and again from August 1856 until his ...
(D-SC) US Representative and fervent advocate of slavery, beat abolitionist Senator
Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...
(R-MA), until his cane broke, leaving him bleeding and unconscious on the floor of the House of Representatives. (1856)


James Buchanan administration (1857–1861)


Legislative branch

* US Representative Orsamus B. Matteson (R-NY), faced an allegation of having defamed the character of the US House by declaring that a majority of its members were 'purchasable'. He himself was then accused of accepting money in exchange for supporting a Minnesota land bill. The House recommendation that he be expelled was tabled and a recommendation of censure was brought up, but before it could be passed, Matteson resigned. (1857)


Abraham Lincoln (R) administration (1861–1865)


Executive branch

* Simon Cameron (R), Lincoln's Secretary of War, resigned in 1862 due to corruption charges. His behavior was so notorious that Congressman
Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of sla ...
, when discussing Cameron's honesty with Lincoln, told him that "I don't think that he would steal a red hot stove." When Cameron demanded Stevens retract this statement, Stevens told Lincoln "I believe I told you he would not steal a red-hot stove. I will now take that back." (1860–1862) * Caleb Lyon (R) was appointed Governor of the Idaho Territory. An audit revealed that he had embezzled $46,418 in federal funds intended for the Nez Perce Indians. He died before prosecution. (1866)


Legislative branch

* Jesse D. Bright (D-IN) US Senator and Pro Tem President of the US Senate, was known as a leading southern sympathizer. When it was discovered that he had written a letter to President
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as ...
aiding him in his pursuit of firearms for the Confederacy, it was taken to be an act of treason. Bright was then expelled from the Senate. (1861) *
James F. Simmons James Fowler Simmons (September 10, 1795July 10, 1864) was a businessman and politician from Rhode Island who twice served as a United States senator, first as a Whig and then as a Republican. He is notable for having the Senate consider expel ...
(R-RI) US Senator had confirmed corruption charges against him reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the charges were then referred to the full Senate for action on July 14, 1862. The Senate adjourned three days later without acting. Before it could reconvene, Simmons resigned on September 5, 1862. * Lovell Harrison Rousseau (R-KY) US Representative assaulted Iowa Representative
Josiah Bushnell Grinnell Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (December 22, 1821 – March 31, 1891) was a U.S. Congressman from Iowa's 4th congressional district, an ordained Congregational minister, founder of Grinnell, Iowa and benefactor of Grinnell College. Grinnell was born i ...
on June 14, 1866, with his iron handled cane until it broke. He was reprimanded by the House of Representatives, and resigned, but was elected again to fill his own vacancy. (1866)


Andrew Johnson (R) administration (1865–1869)


Executive branch

*
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...
(D/Union Party) was
impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...
for violating the Tenure of Office Act. He was acquitted by one vote. (1868)


Ulysses S. Grant (R) administrations (1869–1877)


Executive branch

*
United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
William Belknap (R) resigned just before he was impeached by the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
for bribery. (1876) *
Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. (; March 23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th speaker of the Hous ...
(R-IN) Vice President under Republican
U. S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union ...
invested money in the
Crédit Mobilier Scandal The Crédit Mobilier scandal () was a two-part fraud conducted from 1864 to 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the First transcontinental railroad ...
and failed to mention $10,000 they invested in his next campaign. He was examined by the House, but his term ended before he could be impeached. (1873) * Whiskey Ring was a massive corruption of
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
's (R) administration involving whiskey taxes, bribery and kickbacks ending with 110 convictions. (1875) # Orville E. Babcock (R), a personal secretary to Grant, was indicted in the Whiskey Ring scandal and ten days later in the Safe Burglary Conspiracy. He was acquitted both times. # John J. McDonald (R), Supervisor of the Internal Revenue Service, was convicted and sentenced to three years. # W.O. Avery, Chief Clerk of the Treasury Department, was convicted. # Eastern Wisconsin Federal Attorney
Levi Hubbell Levi Hubbell (April 15, 1808 – December 8, 1876) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He was the first Wisconsin state official to be impeached by the Wisconsin State Assembly in his role as Wisconsin circuit court judge for the ...
(R) was suspended from office for his involvement with the Whiskey Ring through contact with Milwaukee brewers. (1875) *
William Adams Richardson William Adams Richardson (November 2, 1821 – October 19, 1896) was an American lawyer who served as the 29th United States secretary of the treasury from 1873 to 1874. During his tenure, the Panic of 1873 swept the nation and caused a depress ...
(R), U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, hired
John B. Sanborn John Benjamin Sanborn (December 5, 1826 – May 6, 1904) was a lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of New Hampshire who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was also a key member of the postbellum ...
to collect unpaid taxes, some of which were used in a kickback scheme. Though not illegal, Congressional outrage forced Richardson to resign. The actions were made illegal a few months later and are now called the
Sanborn Incident The Sanborn incident or Sanborn contract was an American political scandal which occurred in 1874. William Adams Richardson, President Ulysses S. Grant's Secretary of the Treasury, hired a private citizen, John B. Sanborn, a former Union General ...
. (1874) * Black Friday – When financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market by getting
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
's brother-in-law Abel Corbin to convince Grant to appoint General
Daniel Butterfield Daniel Adams Butterfield (October 31, 1831 – July 17, 1901) was a New York businessman, a Union general in the American Civil War, and Assistant Treasurer of the United States. After working for American Express, co-founded by his father, ...
as Assistant to the
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
, where he could then give them insider information. (1869) *
George M. Robeson George Maxwell Robeson (March 16, 1829 – September 27, 1897) was an American politician and lawyer from New Jersey. A brigadier general in the New Jersey Militia during the American Civil War, he served as Secretary of the Navy, appointed by ...
, Grant's
Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...
, was admonished by the House for gross misconduct and corruption in relation to his dealings with Alexander Cattel. (1876) * Salary Grab Act was the act that increased the salaries of the President, Congress and the Supreme Court. (1873) * Columbus Delano, the Secretary of the Interior under Grant, resigned after allegedly taking bribes in order to secure fraudulent land grants.


Legislative branch

* Crédit Mobilier of America scandal: #
Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...
(R-MA) bribed Congress with Union Pacific stock. # James Brooks (D-NY) also implicated; both were censured for their involvement. (1872) # James W. Patterson (R-NH) US Senator, was found to have given false testimony to both the House and Senate Ethics Committees, both of whom found him guilty of bribery in the
Crédit Mobilier Scandal The Crédit Mobilier scandal () was a two-part fraud conducted from 1864 to 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the First transcontinental railroad ...
. They both recommended his expulsion from the Senate, but Patterson's term expired before such action could be taken. (1873) # See also William Belknap (R) Secretary of War under Republican
U. S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union ...
# See also
Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. (; March 23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th speaker of the Hous ...
(R-IN) Vice President under Republican
U. S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union ...
* Alexander Caldwell (R-KS) US Senator, was elected to the US Senate. It was discovered that his rival candidate, Thomas Carney, dropped out of the race, admitting that he had accepted a bribe of $15,000 to leave the race allowing Caldwell to win. He was impeached and the US Senate declared that Caldwell had not been "duly and legally elected" and moved to expel him. Before a vote could be taken, Caldwell resigned (1873) *
Samuel C. Pomeroy Samuel Clarke Pomeroy (January 3, 1816 – August 27, 1891) was a United States senator from Kansas in the mid-19th century. He served in the United States Senate during the American Civil War. Pomeroy also served in the Massachusetts House of ...
(R-KS) US Senator, was being investigated for bribery and buying votes. A motion to impeach and expel Pomeroy was made, but arrived on the last day of Pomeroy's term, who was not re-elected. (1873) * John T. Deweese (R-NC) US Representative, was accused of accepting a $500 bribe for recommending a cadet be appointed to the US Naval Academy. On February 28, 1870, he abruptly resigned. Two days later, the House of Representatives censured him, 170–0. (1870) *
Benjamin Franklin Whittemore Benjamin Franklin Whittemore, also known as B. F. Whittemore (May 18, 1824 – January 25, 1894), was a minister, politician, and publisher in the United States. After his theological studies, he was a minister and then during the Civil War, a cha ...
(R-SC) US Representative, was found to have sold an appointment to the US Naval Academy. He was found guilty and forced to resign.(1870) *
James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representati ...
(R-ME) US Representative, faced an allegation of selling $64,000 of worthless Union Pacific Railroad bonds. The House Committee of the Judiciary ordered an investigation. A month later, he resigned. (1876)


Judicial branch

* Mark Delahay (R) a U.S. District Judge of Kansas and cofounder of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
, was impeached by the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
on February 28, 1873, for "
intoxication Intoxication — or poisoning, especially by an alcoholic or narcotic substance — may refer to: * Substance intoxication: ** Alcohol intoxication ** LSD intoxication ** Toxidrome ** Tobacco intoxication ** Cannabis intoxication ** Cocaine in ...
off the bench as well as on the bench", He resigned two months later. (1873) *
Richard Busteed Richard Busteed (February 16, 1822 – September 14, 1898) was a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District o ...
(R) US Judge from the Northern District of Alabama, spent much of his time at home in New York though serving in Alabama. Southern sympathizers brought charges against him for non-residence, failure to hold court and improper use of his position. To avoid being removed from office, he resigned before impeachment. (1874) *
Levi Hubbell Levi Hubbell (April 15, 1808 – December 8, 1876) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. He was the first Wisconsin state official to be impeached by the Wisconsin State Assembly in his role as Wisconsin circuit court judge for the ...
(R) US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, accused of corruption for failing to prosecute whisky distributors who were bribing US Revenue agents. Forced to resign. (1875) * William Story (R) Judge of the US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas appointed by Republican
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
. Graft and corruption in the court became so bad that Story appeared before the House Judiciary Committee. He resigned soon after. (1874) * Charles Taylor Sherman (R) Federal Judge of the Northern District of Ohio, was alleged to have demanded stocks in exchange for favorable rulings and threatened adverse rulings if they were not paid. He resigned before impeachment began. (1873)


Rutherford B. Hayes (R) administration (1877–1881)


Executive branch

* Ezra Ayres Hayt, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs under
Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...
, was forced to resign by
Interior Secretary The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...
Carl Schurz Carl Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He immigrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent member of the new ...
due to allegations of rampant corruption. (1880)


Judicial branch

* US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Judge
Edward Henry Durell Edward Henry Durell (July 14, 1810 – March 29, 1887) was the 25th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Louisiana and the United States District Court for t ...
(R) was impeached for alleged drunkenness, corruption, and election-rigging. He resigned before trial. (1879)


James A. Garfield (R) administration (1881)


Legislative branch

* Senator Stephen W. Dorsey (R-AR) was included in the investigation of corruption of
Star Route Star routes is a term used in connection with the United States postal service and the contracting of mail delivery services. The term is defunct as of 1970, but still is occasionally used to refer to Highway Contract Routes (HCRs), which replaced t ...
postal contracts under the administrations of President James A. Garfield (R) and President Chester A. Arthur (R). (1881)


Chester A. Arthur (R) administration (1881–1885)


Executive branch

*
Nehemiah G. Ordway Nehemiah George Ordway (November 10, 1828July 3, 1907) was an American politician who was a New Hampshire state senator and the seventh Governor of Dakota Territory. Ordway was regarded as one of Dakota Territory's most controversial governors. ...
(R) was appointed Governor of Dakota Territory and was removed from office for corrupt practices. (1884) * Levi Jarrad (R) was appointed US Postmaster for New Brunswick, NJ by President Chester A. Arthur (R) in 1881. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for forgery in 1884.


Grover Cleveland (D) administration (1885–1889)


Legislative branch

* Utah Territorial Delegate George Q. Cannon (R) was refused his seat due to a conviction for unlawful cohabitation (
polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marr ...
), for which he served nearly six months in Utah's federal penitentiary. (1888) * SC Representative
Robert Smalls Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew, and their families during the American Civil ...
(R-SC) was charged with accepting a $5,000 bribe in relation to a government printing contract and found guilty. (1877)


Judicial branch

*
Edward Henry Durell Edward Henry Durell (July 14, 1810 – March 29, 1887) was the 25th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Louisiana and the United States District Court for t ...
(R) US Federal Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, was impeached for usurpation of power, drunkenness, corruption, and election-rigging. He resigned before trial. (1879)


William McKinley (R) administration (1897–1901)


Executive branch

*
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
US Federal District Attorney John Hicklin Hall (R) was appointed by Republican President
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...
and ordered to investigate the Oregon land fraud scandal. He was accused of failing to prosecute land companies engaging in fraudulent activities, and blackmailing his political opponents. On February 8, 1908, a jury found Hall guilty. (1907) * Alexander McKenzie (R) Republican National Committeeman, was appointed receiver of the Anvil Creek gold mines in Alaska. He took over production and kept the gold it produced. He was then ordered to return the gold he had collected, an order which he refused. He was found guilty of two counts of contempt of court and sentenced to one year in jail. (1901)


Legislative branch

*
Charles Henry Dietrich Charles Henry Dietrich (November 26, 1853April 10, 1924) was the 11th Governor of Nebraska. Dietrich in mercantile pursuits and in banking. After serving as governor, he was elected U.S. Senator from May 1, 1901 to March 3, 1905. Personal life ...
(R-NE) US Senator, before he took office Dietrich was charged with bribery for accepting money to appoint Jacob Fisher to be a US Postmaster. He was charged with conspiracy to receive a bribe, accepting a bribe and profiting by the leasing of a building to the government. Before the trial could begin, the judge held that Dietrich could not be prosecuted because the alleged bribery occurred after he was elected, but before Dietrich was sworn in as a US Senator. All charges were then dropped. (1901)


Theodore Roosevelt (R) administrations (1901–1909)


Legislative branch

* William A. Clark (D-MT) US Senator, was elected amid allegations of rampant bribery. Though seated, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections unanimously concluded he was not entitled to his seat and recommended a vote to remove him. He resigned in 1900 rather than be voted out, thus creating a vacancy. In 1901, he was re-elected to fill the vacancy that he had just created by a Montana legislature now filled with winning candidates he had already financially supported. (1900) * William Miller Jenkins (R) Governor of the Oklahoma Territory was appointed by Republican President
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...
in May 1901. Jenkins was investigated both for discrepancies in the dispensation of lands from newly opened Indian lands and his appointment of officials concerning the Oklahoma Sanitarium Company which held included $10,000 in stock to Jenkins for contracts with the Oklahoma Territory. When McKinley was assassinated Republican President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
assumed office and an investigation by the Interior Department of Jenkins revealed nothing. Nonetheless, in November. Roosevelt removed Jenkins from office for his "indiscreet" and inappropriate role" in the matter. (1901)Everett, Dianna. "Jenkins, William Miller (1856-1941)". ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture''.
Accessed March 4, 2018.
*
John Goodnow John Goodnow (June 29, 1858 – December 7, 1907) was a businessman and American diplomat who served for eight years as United States Consul General in Shanghai. Early life Goodnow was born June 29, 1858, in Greensburg, Indiana, the son of Lt C ...
(R) US Consulate General of Shanghai, China, was appointed by Republican President
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...
, when accused of corruption, he resigned. (1902) *
John Hipple Mitchell John Hipple Mitchell, also known as John Mitchell Hipple, John H. Mitchell, or J. H. Mitchell (June 22, 1835December 8, 1905) was an American lawyer, politician, and convicted criminal. He served as a Republican United States Senator from Orego ...
(R-OR) US Senator, was involved with the Oregon land fraud scandal, for which he was
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...
and
convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is co ...
while a sitting U.S. Senator. He died before sentencing. (1905) * Joseph R. Burton (R-KS) US Senator, was convicted of bribery in 1904 on the charge of illegally receiving compensation for services rendered before a federal department and served five months in prison. (1904) * Henry B. Cassel (R-PA) US Representative, was convicted of fraud related to the construction of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in 1909.


Judicial branch

* John Hicklin Hall (R) US District Attorney for Oregon, appointed by President McKinley, was convicted of not prosecuting suspects and then blackmailing them during the Oregon land fraud scandal. (1903)


William Howard Taft (R) administration (1909–1913)


Legislative branch

* William Lorimer (R-IL) US Senator, also known as the "blond boss of Chicago", was expelled from the U.S. Senate in 1912 for accepting bribes. * Ralph Cameron (R-AZ) US Senator, attempted to control access to the Grand Canyon by buying mining rights to adjacent lands. (1912) * William Forte Willett Jr. (D-NY), US Representative, was indicted on charges of bribery for paying State Democratic Party leaders for a seat on the NY State Supreme Court. He was convicted of conspiracy, corrupt practices and bribery and served 14 months in prison (1912)


Judicial branch

*
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
U.S. Commerce Court Judge
Robert W. Archbald Robert Wodrow Archbald (September 10, 1848 – August 19, 1926), known as R. W. Archbald, was a United States circuit judge of the United States Commerce Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States Circ ...
(R) was involved for corrupt alliances with coal mine workers and railroad officials. He was convicted and removed from office. (1912) * Cornelius Hanford (R) US District Judge for the Western District of Washington, resigned under threat of impeachment for corruption. (1912)


Woodrow Wilson (D) administrations (1913–1921)


Executive branch

* Newport Sex Scandal – Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) initiated an investigation into allegations of "immoral conduct" (homosexuality) at Naval Station Newport in
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. After the report, which revealed nothing, the investigators themselves were also accused of homosexuality. (1919)


Judicial branch

* John Augustine Marshall (D) Judge of the US District Court of Utah, appointed by
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
(D) was accused in a sex scandal involving the cleaning woman of his courtroom. He resigned. (1915) * Daniel Thew Wright (R) Judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia was appointed by
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
(R) and was accused of favoritism and massive corruption. He resigned before impeachment. (1914)


Warren G. Harding (R) administration (1921–1923)


Executive branch

* President Warren G. Harding's (R-OH) administration was marred by scandals stemming from men in his administration who followed him from
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, who came to be known as the
Ohio Gang The Ohio Gang was a gang of politicians and industry leaders closely surrounding Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States. Many of these individuals came into Harding's personal orbit during his tenure as a state-level politici ...
. They include; # Albert Fall,
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...
, was bribed by
Harry F. Sinclair Harry Ford Sinclair (July 6, 1876 – November 10, 1956) was an American industrialist, and the founder of Sinclair Oil. He was implicated in the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal, and served six months in prison for jury tampering. Afterwards he retur ...
for control of the
Teapot Dome The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyo ...
federal oil reserves in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...
. He was the first U.S. cabinet member to ever be convicted; he served two years in prison. (1922) #
Edwin C. Denby Edwin Denby (February 18, 1870 – February 8, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of the Navy in the administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge from 1921 to 1924. He also played a notable role in the ...
,
Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...
, resigned for his part in the
Teapot Dome The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyo ...
oil reserve scandal. #
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Harry M. Daugherty Harry Micajah Daugherty (; January 26, 1860 – October 12, 1941) was an American politician. A key Ohio Republican political insider, he is best remembered for his service as Attorney General of the United States under Presidents Warren G. Hard ...
resigned on March 28, 1924, because of an investigation about a bootlegging kickback scheme by his chief aide Jess Smith. Found not guilty. (1924) # Jess Smith, aide to Attorney General Daugherty, destroyed incriminating papers and then committed suicide. # Charles R. Forbes was appointed by Harding as the first director of the new Bureau of Veterans Affairs. After constructing and modernizing VA hospitals, he was convicted of bribery and corruption and sentenced to two years in jail. # Charles Cramer, Forbes's general counsel, committed suicide. (1923) # Thomas W. Miller, Head of the Office of Alien Property, was convicted of fraud by selling valuable German patents seized after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
for far below market price as well as bribery. Served 18 months.


Legislative branch

*
Thomas L. Blanton Thomas Lindsay Blanton (October 25, 1872 – August 11, 1957) was a United States Representative from Texas from 1917 to 1929, then again from 1930 to 1937. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
(D-TX) was censured for inserting obscene material into the congressional record. According to
Franklin Wheeler Mondell Frank Wheeler Mondell (November 6, 1860August 6, 1939) was a United States representative of Wyoming. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he was educated in the public schools. For many years he was engaged in farming, stock-raising, and ra ...
(R-WY) the letter was said to contain language that was "unspeakable, vile, foul, filthy, profane, blasphemous and obscene". A motion to expel him failed by 8 votes. (1921) * Truman Handy Newberry (R-MI) US Senator, was convicted of election irregularities, but the case was overturned by the US Supreme Court. However, due to continued opposition and a senate condemnation vote claiming that $3,750 was too much to spend on an election against automaker
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
, he resigned. (1921)


Judicial branch

* Francis Asbury Winslow (R) Judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. appointed by Warren G. Harding (R). Following calls for an investigation by
Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fr ...
into recent bankruptcy decisions and his choice of court-appointed receivers, Winslow was found to have committed "serious indiscretions". He then resigned. (1929)


Calvin Coolidge (R) administrations (1923–1929)


Executive branch

* US Alien Property Custodian
Thomas B. Miller Thomas Byron Miller (August 11, 1896 – March 20, 1976) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Thomas B. Miller was born in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. He attended the law school of Dickinson Col ...
(R) was convicted of conspiring to defraud the US government and served 18 months in prison. (1927) * Frederick A. Fenning (R), District of Columbia Commissioner appointed by
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...
, was investigated and accused of practices illegal and contrary to law. He resigned before trial. (1927)


Legislative branch

*
John W. Langley John Wesley Langley (January 14, 1868 – January 17, 1932) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, husband of Katherine Gudger Langley. Born in Floyd County, Kentucky, Langley attended the common schools and then taught school for three years ...
(R-KY) resigned from the US Congress in January 1926, after losing an appeal to set aside his conviction of violating the
Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...
(
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...
). He had also been caught trying to bribe a Prohibition officer. He was sentenced to two years after which, his wife ran for Congress in his place and won two full terms. * William Scott Vare (R-PA) US Senator, was unseated on December 6, 1929, due to charges of corruption and fraud during his election. *
Frank L. Smith Frank Leslie Smith (November 24, 1867 – August 30, 1950) was an Illinois politician. Biography Smith was born in Dwight, Illinois, in Livingston County He served as a United States Congressman from 1919 to 1921. Career Smith first ran ...
(R), Head of the Illinois Commerce Commission, was appointed to be US Senator by IL Governor
Len Small Lennington "Len" Small (June 16, 1862 – May 17, 1936) was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of Illinois from 1921 to 1929. He previously was a member of the Illinois state senate from the 16th District from 1901 to 1903 a ...
(R), but was rejected by the US Senate for alleged "fraud and corruption". (1927)


Judicial branch

* George English (D) U.S. District Judge for
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
was impeached for taking an interest-free loan from a bank of which he was director as well as misbehavior and manipulation. Resigned before his Senate trial. (1924)


Herbert Hoover (R) administration (1929–1933)


Legislative branch

* Senator Hiram Bingham (R-CT) was censured for hiring a lobbyist employed by a manufacturing organization to work on his staff. (1929) * Harry E. Rowbottom (R-IN) was convicted in federal court of accepting bribes from persons who sought post office appointments. He was given one year in Leavenworth. * George E. Foulkes (D-MI) US Rep, was found guilty of conspiracy and bribery and sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $1,000 (1934)


Judicial branch

*
John W. Brady John W. Brady (April 6, 1869 or 1870 – December 14, 1943) was an American lawyer. He served as a county attorney from 1902 to 1910, the assistant attorney general for the state, and a judge on the Texas Third Court of Civil Appeals. In 1929 ...
(D) US Judge of the Third District Court of Appeals of Texas. Brady, who was married, was accused of stabbing his mistress multiple times when he discovered her escorted by another man. He was found guilty of murder without malice and sentenced to three years in prison. (1930)


Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D) administrations (1933–1945)


Executive branch

*
Michael J. Hogan Michael Joseph Hogan (April 22, 1871 – May 7, 1940) was an American businessman and politician from Brooklyn, New York. A Republican, he was most notable for his service on New York City's board of aldermen and as a U.S. Representative from ...
(R) Collector of the Port of New York. Convicted of bribery in connection with an immigration ring for illegal aliens seeking entry into the United States. He was sentenced to a year and a day in a Federal Penitentiary. (1935) *
William P. MacCracken Jr. William Patterson MacCracken Jr. (September 17, 1888 - September 20, 1969) was the first U. S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. His department was awarded the Collier Trophy of 1928 for its contribution to the "development of airw ...
(R) US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, was convicted of Contempt of Congress for the Air Mail scandal. (1934)


Legislative branch

* Francis Henry Shoemaker (Farmer-Labor-MN) was sentenced to a year and a day in the penitentiary for sending scurrilous and defamatory materials through the mail. (1933) *
John H. Hoeppel John Henry Hoeppel (February 10, 1881 – September 21, 1976) was a U.S. Representative from California. He served two terms, from 1933 through 1937, but was expelled from Congress for trying to profit from his appointment of a student to a mil ...
(D-CA) was convicted of trying to sell an appointment to the West Point Military Academy. (1936) * Donald F. Snow (R-ME) was committed to the Maine State Prison for two to four years for embezzlement. (1935)


Judicial Branch

* Joseph Buffington (R) US Judge of the 3rd Circuit, appointed by
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
(R). Investigation by the US House revealed that at the age of 92, Buffington was both deaf and blind and it was suspected that all of his decision were being written and sold by another judge. He resigned before impeachment. (1935) * Halsted L. Ritter (R) Judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida appointed by Republican
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...
. Was accused of taking kickbacks on bankruptcy cases and not reporting them on his taxes. Though he was found not guilty of six separate charges, he was found guilty on the seventh count charging 'general misbehavior' and bringing the judiciary into disrepute (accepting free meals and lodging during receivership proceedings). He was impeached and removed from office. (1936) *
Martin Thomas Manton Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for th ...
(D) US District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, was investigated for judicial corruption and bribery which resulted in prosecution and a two-year prison term. (1939) *
Edwin Stark Thomas Edwin Stark Thomas (November 11, 1872 – January 21, 1952) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Education and career Born on November 11, 1872, in Woodstock, Illinois, Thoma ...
(D) U.S. District Judge for Connecticut, during a grand jury investigation of official misconduct and his financial affairs, he resigned. (1939) * John Warren Davis (D) Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, appointed by
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, was investigated for accepting a bribe from film mogul William Fox. Further investigation revealed Davis was routinely accepting bribes for decisions signed by fellow Judge Joseph Buffington (R) who was senile. When Fox was found guilty, Davis resigned two weeks later. (1939) * Albert Williams Johnson (R) US Judge of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, appointed by
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...
(R), was under investigation by a US House Judiciary Committee. In unusual language, they found he was a "wicked, evil and mendacious judge". The report of the subcommittee also said that almost "every litigant who had the misfortune to appear before this wicked and malicious judge became the immediate object of a crooked conspiracy whose sole interest was the amount of money that could be extorted from him for justice or the evasion of justice". Johnson resigned before impeachment (1945)


Harry S. Truman (D) administrations (1945–1953)


Executive branch

* A Justice Department investigation of the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory t ...
led to the firing or resignation of 166 lower level employees, causing President
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
(D) to be stained with charges of corruption. (1950) * William M. Boyle (D) Chairman of the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...
, accused of getting special loan rates. Resigned for poor health (1951)


Legislative branch

* Walter E. Brehm (R-OH) was convicted of accepting contributions illegally from one of his employees. He received a 15-month suspended sentence and a $5,000 fine. *
J. Parnell Thomas John Parnell Thomas (January 16, 1895 – November 19, 1970) was a stockbroker and politician. He was elected to seven terms as a U.S. Representative from New Jersey as a Republican. He was later a convicted criminal who served nine months in f ...
(R-NJ), a member of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), was convicted of salary fraud in a kickback scheme and given an 18-month sentence and fined $10,000, resigning from Congress in 1950. He was imprisoned in Danbury Prison with two of the
Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...
he had helped put there. He was pardoned by President
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
(D) in 1952. *
Andrew J. May Andrew Jackson May (June 24, 1875 – September 6, 1959) was a Kentucky attorney, an influential New Deal-era politician, and chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee during World War II, infamous for his rash disclosure of classified na ...
(D-KY) was convicted of accepting bribes in 1947 from a war munitions manufacturer. He was sentenced to nine months in prison, after which he was pardoned by Truman (D) in 1952. *
James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterize ...
(D-MA) was sentenced to 6–18 months on mail fraud and spent five months in prison before his sentence was commuted by President Truman. (1947) * H.
Styles Bridges Henry Styles Bridges (September 9, 1898November 26, 1961) was an American teacher, editor, and Republican Party politician from Concord, New Hampshire. He served one term as the 63rd governor of New Hampshire before a twenty-four-year career in ...
(R-NH) US Senator, during the
Lavender Scare The "lavender scare" was a moral panic about homosexual people in the United States government which led to their mass dismissal from government service during the mid-20th century. It contributed to and paralleled the anti-communist campaign w ...
of the 1950s, Bridges threatened to expose the son of US Senator
Lester Hunt Lester Callaway Hunt, Sr. (July 8, 1892June 19, 1954), was an American Democratic politician from the state of Wyoming. Hunt was the first to be elected to two consecutive terms as Wyoming's governor, serving as its 19th Governor from January ...
's (D-WY) as a homosexual unless Hunt immediately resigned from the Senate, thus giving Republicans the majority. Hunt refused, but did not seek re-election and then shot himself. (1954)


Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) administrations (1953–1961)


Executive branch

*
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
(R) Vice presidential candidate, delivered the " Checkers speech" to deflect scandal about $18,000 in gifts, maintaining the only personal gift he had received was a dog. (1952) * Sherman Adams (R) Chief of Staff to Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower was cited for Contempt of Congress and forced to resign because he refused to answer questions about an oriental rug and vicuna coat given to his wife. (1958) * John C. Doerfer (R) appointed Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Eisenhower, spent a week-long Florida vacation in 1960 on the luxury yacht owned by his friend George B. Storer, president of
Storer Communications Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the Northeastern United States. It was incorporated in Ohio 1927, and was broken up in 1986. History 1920s–1940s In 1927, George B. Store ...
. During the
1950s quiz show scandals The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the producers and contestants of several popular American television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearrange the s ...
he was accused of conflict of interest and forced to resign.


Legislative branch

*
McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...
was a broad political and cultural
purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...
started against people suspected of sympathy with
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
, starting near the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and reaching its climax in the investigations of Republican Sen.
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...
. After an embarrassing investigation of the United States Army the Senate passed a resolution of condemnation against McCarthy in 1954 ending his career, but anti-communist purges continued for several years. (He died in 1957 before his Senate seat could come up for election.) *
Thomas J. Lane Thomas Joseph Lane (July 6, 1898 – June 14, 1994) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1941 to 1963, notable for having been re-elected after serving time in federal prison. Lane was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on July 6, 1898 ...
(D-MA) was convicted for evading taxes on his congressional income. He served four months in prison, but was re-elected three more times before his 1962 defeat due to re-districting. (1956) *
Ernest K. Bramblett Ernest King Bramblett (April 25, 1901 – December 27, 1966) was an American Republican politician who represented California's Central Coast in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1955 when he was convicted. He was elected to th ...
(R-CA) received a suspended sentence and a $5,000 fine in 1955 for making false statements in connection with payroll padding and kickbacks from congressional employees. * Douglas R. Stringfellow (R-UT) abandoned his 1954 re-election bid after admitting to embellishing his war record. Stringfellow falsely claimed to have been awarded a Silver Star and feigned paraplegia.


John F. Kennedy (D) administration (1961–1963)


Legislative branch

* Thomas F. Johnson (D-MD) was indicted on charges of members of Maryland's S&L industry bribing him and lost his seat in 1962. Later was convicted of conspiracy and conflict of interest in 1968, served months of a 6-month sentence and was fined $5,000. *
Frank W. Boykin Frank William Boykin Sr. (February 21, 1885 – March 12, 1969) served as a Democratic Congressman in Alabama's 1st congressional district from 1935-1963. The son of sharecroppers, Boykin became the wealthiest man in Mobile, although his entrep ...
(D-AL) was placed on six months' probation in 1963 following conviction in a case involving a conflict of interest and conspiracy to defraud the government. His prison sentence was suspended on age and health grounds and he was fined $40,000 total. He was pardoned by President
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
in 1965.


Lyndon B. Johnson (D) administrations (1963–1969)


Executive branch

*
Bobby Baker Robert Gene Baker (November 12, 1928 – November 12, 2017) was an American political adviser to Lyndon B. Johnson, and an organizer for the Democratic Party. He became the Senate's Secretary to the Majority Leader. In 1963, he resigned during a ...
, (D) Secretary to the Majority Leader of the Senate Lyndon B. Johnson (the vice-president then serving), resigned after charges of corruption (1963) and convicted of tax evasion (1967)


Legislative branch

* Senator
Daniel Brewster Daniel Baugh Brewster Jr. (November 23, 1923 – August 19, 2007) was an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland from 1963 until 1969. He was also a member of the Marylan ...
(D-MD) pleaded no contest to accepting an illegal gratuity in 1975 and fined $10,000. Brewster was convicted in 1972 of accepting $14,500 from a lobbyist, and was handed a six-year prison term in 1973 over the conviction, but the conviction was overturned on grounds of unclear jury instructions. * James Fred Hastings (R-NY) was a delegate to the
1968 Republican National Convention The 1968 Republican National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice Preside ...
and the
1972 Republican National Convention The 1972 Republican National Convention was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew for reelection. The conv ...
. He was elected to Congress in 1968 and served from January 3, 1969, until he resigned on January 20, 1976, after being convicted of kickbacks and mail fraud. He served 14 months at Allenwood penitentiary (1976). *
Cornelius Gallagher (American politician) Cornelius Edward "Neil" Gallagher (March 2, 1921 — October 17, 2018) was an American Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 until 1973. Ear ...
(D-NJ) US Representative from District 13, was accused of evading payment of $74,000 in federal income taxes in 1966. He pled guilty in 1972 to tax evasion and perjury, sentenced to two years in prison and fined $10,000. (1966)


Judicial branch

* U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Abe Fortas Abraham Fortas (June 19, 1910 – April 5, 1982) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1969. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas graduated from R ...
(D) resigned when he was discovered to be a paid consultant to a convicted criminal. No charges were ever filed. (1969)


Richard Nixon (R) administrations (1969–1974)


Executive branch

*
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...
(R-MD) was convicted of tax fraud stemming from bribery charges in Maryland and forced to resign. Gerald R. Ford (R-MI) was nominated by Nixon to replace Agnew as vice president, becoming the first person appointed to the Vice Presidency under the terms of the
25th Amendment The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...
. *
Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...
concerns US President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
(R-CA) who ordered the burglary of the offices of the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...
at the complex. The object was to plant a
Covert listening device A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, or wiretapping is a common technique in surveillance, espionage ...
in the office and learn who inside his own administration was leaking information. The burglars were discovered and arrested. Nixon tried to cover up both the burglary, the bugging, and the full extent of other illegal acts by his close staff. The cover up resulted in 69 government officials being charged and 48 being convicted or pleading guilty. Eventually, Nixon resigned his office rather than face trial. Vice president
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
was sworn in as president and immediately pardoned Nixon. (1972–1974) Those also involved include: #
John N. Mitchell John Newton Mitchell (September 15, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon and chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns. Prior to that, he had been a municipal ...
(R)
Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the ...
, was convicted of perjury and served nineteen months of a one- to four-year sentence. # Richard Kleindienst (R) Attorney General that replaced Mitchell, was convicted of "refusing to answer questions" given one month in jail. #
Jeb Stuart Magruder Jeb Stuart Magruder (November 5, 1934May 11, 2014) was an American businessman and high-level political operative in the Republican Party who served time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. He served President Richard Nixon in va ...
(R) Head of
Committee to Re-elect the President A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, August 1973 #
Frederick C. LaRue Frederick Cheney "Fred" LaRue, Sr. (October 11, 1928 – July 24, 2004), was an aide in the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon. He served a short prison sentence for his role in the Watergate scandal#Wiretapping of the Democratic ...
(R) Advisor to John Mitchell, was convicted of obstruction of justice. # H. R. Haldeman (R) CoS for Nixon, was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury. #
John Ehrlichman John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American political aide who served as the White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important i ...
(R) Counsel to Nixon, was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury. # Egil Krogh (R) aide to John Ehrlichman, head of the 'plumbers', was sentenced to six years. #
John W. Dean III John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scand ...
(R) counsel to Nixon, was convicted for obstruction of justice. #
Dwight L. Chapin Dwight Lee Chapin (born December 2, 1940) is an American political organizer, businessman, and retired public servant. He was Deputy Assistant to President Richard Nixon, during the Watergate scandal. Chapin was convicted of lying to a grand ju ...
(R) deputy assistant to Nixon, was convicted of perjury. #
Herbert W. Kalmbach Herbert Warren Kalmbach (October 19, 1921 – September 15, 2017) was an American attorney and banker. He served as the personal attorney to United States President Richard Nixon (1968–1973). He became embroiled in the Watergate scandal ...
(R) personal attorney to Nixon, was convicted of illegal campaigning. #
Charles W. Colson Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as Pr ...
(R) special counsel to Nixon, was convicted for obstruction of justice. #
Herbert L. Porter Herbert L. "Bart" Porter was a campaign aide to U.S. President Richard M. Nixon. Early life At University of Southern California, he was a member of Trojans for Representative Government with future Watergate scandal participants Dwight L ...
(R) aide to the
Committee to Re-elect the President A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
, was convicted of perjury. # G. Gordon Liddy (R) Special Investigations Group, was convicted of burglary. *
Maurice Stans Maurice Hubert Stans (March 22, 1908April 14, 1998) was an American accountant, civil servant, and political organizer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Commerce from 1969 to 1972. He served as the finance chairman for the Committ ...
(R) Secretary of Commerce, pleaded guilty to 3 counts of violating the reporting sections of the Federal Election Campaign Act and 2 counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions and was fined $5,000. (1975) *
G. Bradford Cook George Bradford Cook (born May 10, 1937 - August 28, 2014), also known as G. Bradford Cook and Brad Cook, was an American lawyer who served as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1972. He resigned after being caught up in t ...
(R) was appointed by President Nixon to be Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He resigned his position during the investigation into the Robert Vesco/Watergate affair during which he allegedly lied to a grand jury and was disbarred by the US Supreme Court for three years. He had served as chairman for just 74 days. (1973) ''
The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...
'' reported that Cook believed he was going to be
impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...
, and offered to resign. The White House allowed him to do so. * H. R. Haldeman (R) Nixon's Chief of Staff, set up a secret fund-raising enterprise, the "Townhouse Operation", designed to bypass the Republican National Committee. (1970) # Harry Shuler Dent (R) Presidential Counsel and Strategist, pleaded guilty to violations of Federal election law for his part in the illegal fundraising operation. #
Herbert W. Kalmbach Herbert Warren Kalmbach (October 19, 1921 – September 15, 2017) was an American attorney and banker. He served as the personal attorney to United States President Richard Nixon (1968–1973). He became embroiled in the Watergate scandal ...
(R) Nixon's Personal Attorney, raised $3.9 million for a secret Republican slush fund. He also promised an
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...
a better post in exchange for $100,000, which led to conviction and imprisonment. Kalmbach pleaded guilty to violation of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act and one count of promising federal employment. # Jack A. Gleason (R) White House Aide, pleaded guilty to violations of Federal election law concerning an illegal fund raising operation run by the White House. # Wendell Wyatt (R-OR) US Representative, was found guilty on one count of failing to report outlays from a secret cash fund called he controlled while heading the
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
campaign in Oregon. Fined $750. (1975) * Richard Helms Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1966–1973), was convicted of misleading Congress concerning assassination attempts in Cuba, anti-government activities in Chile and the illegal surveillance of journalists in the US. Mr. Helms pleaded no contest. *
Donald Segretti Donald Henry Segretti (born September 17, 1941, in San Marino, California) is an attorney best known for working as a political operative with then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President during the early 1970s. Segre ...
(R) ran a campaign of dirty tricks for Nixon which he dubbed "ratfucking", meaning forging and distributing false documents to embarrass Democrats. Segretti pled guilty to 3 counts of distributing illegal (forged) campaign literature and was sentenced to six months in prison. (1974)


Legislative branch

* Senator
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
(D-MA) drove his car into a tidal channel on
Chappaquiddick Island Chappaquiddick Island (Massachusett language: ''tchepi-aquidenet''; colloquially known as "Chappy"), a part of the town of Edgartown, Massachusetts, is a small peninsula and occasional island on the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard. Norton Poi ...
, a small island off of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He swam free of the flipped car but the trapped passenger,
Mary Jo Kopechne Mary Jo Kopechne (; July 26, 1940 – July 18 or 19, 1969) was an American secretary, and one of the campaign workers for U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, a close team known as the "Boiler Room Girls". In 1969, she d ...
, drowned. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a suspended sentence of two months. (1969) * Cornelius Gallagher (D-NJ) pleaded guilty to tax evasion, and served two years in prison. *
J. Irving Whalley John Irving Whalley (September 14, 1902 – March 8, 1980) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life and business activities J. Irving Whalley was born in Barnesboro, Pennsylvania to Isabella ...
(R-PA) received suspended three-year sentence and fined $11,000 in 1973 for using mails to deposit staff salary kickbacks and threatening an employee to prevent her from giving information to the FBI. * Martin B. McKneally (R-NY) was placed on one year's probation and fined $5,000 in 1971 for failing to file income tax return. He had not paid taxes for many years prior. *
Richard T. Hanna Richard Thomas Hanna (June 9, 1914 – June 9, 2001) was a U.S. Representative from California. He became involved in a scandal dubbed Koreagate by accepting bribes from a businessman working for the South Korean government. He was found guilty ...
(D-CA) was convicted in an influence-buying scandal. (1974) *
Edwin Reinecke Howard Edwin "Ed" Reinecke (January 7, 1924 – December 24, 2016) was an American politician from California. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives. He was the 39th state lieutenant governor from 1969 until his ...
(R-CA) was convicted of perjury and sentenced to 18 months in prison as part of the Watergate investigation. He resigned one day before his sentencing, which was overturned on appeal because "the Senate Judiciary Committee before which he was accused of perjuring himself had failed to publish its rule permitting a one-man quorum." *
William Oswald Mills William Oswald Mills Sr. (August 12, 1924 – May 24, 1973), was a Republican U.S. congressman who represented the 1st Congressional district of Maryland from May 25, 1971 until his death in Easton, Maryland on May 24, 1973. Life and ca ...
(R-MD) US Representative had received an undisclosed $25,000 gift from the Finance Committee of President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign (CREEP), which was part of $900,000 in unaccounted donations made by that committee in May 1973. Five days later, he committed suicide. (1973) *
George V. Hansen George Vernon Hansen (September 14, 1930 – August 14, 2014) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, representing Idaho's 2nd district from 1965 to 1969 and again fr ...
(R-ID) US Representative, was the first member of Congress to be convicted of violating a new 1971 campaign law requiring disclosure of financial contributions. (1974) *
James R. Jones James Robert Jones (born May 5, 1939) is an American lawyer, diplomat, Democratic politician, a retired U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico under President Bill Clinton. Jones grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, ...
(D-OK) US Representative, pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge that he had failed to report a $200 campaign contribution. He was fined $200. (1972) *
John Dowdy John Vernard Dowdy (February 11, 1912 – April 12, 1995) was an American politician. Dowdy was a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from the 7th District of Texas from 1952 to 1967 and then served as a congressman from the 2nd D ...
(D-TX) US Representative, found guilty of perjury, sentenced to 6 months and fined. (1972)


Judicial branch

*
Herbert Allan Fogel Herbert Allan Fogel (April 20, 1929 – September 18, 2002) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Born on April 20, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvan ...
(R) US Judge of Eastern District of PA (1973–1978) resigned after investigations of his role in awarding a lucrative government contract to his uncle. During the investigation, he invoked the 5th Amendment multiple times. He was then asked to resign. (1978)


Gerald Ford (R) administration (1974–1977)


Executive branch

*
Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...
Earl Butz (R) was asked privately why the party of Lincoln was not able to attract more blacks. Butz replied: "I'll tell you what the coloreds want. It's three things: first, a tight pussy; second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to shit." Butz resigned soon afterwards on October 4, 1976.


Legislative branch

*
Andrew J. Hinshaw Andrew Jackson Hinshaw (August 4, 1923 – January 21, 2016) was an American politician who served as a Congressman for California between 1973 and 1977. In 1977 he was convicted of accepting bribes from the Tandy Corporation in his previous j ...
(R-CA) US Representative, was convicted of accepting bribes while Assessor of Orange County as well as stealing county funds and property for his Congressional Campaign. He served one year in prison. (1977) * Wayne L. Hays (D-OH) resigned from Congress after hiring and promoting his mistress,
Elizabeth Ray Elizabeth Ray (born Betty Lou Ray on May 14, 1943, in Marshall, North Carolina) was the central figure in a much-publicized sex scandal in 1976 that ended the career of U.S. Rep. Wayne Hays (D-Ohio). ''The Washington Post'' reported that Ray had ...
. (1976) * Frank Horton (R-NY) pleaded guilty to a DWI (arrested at 105 mph with two women; neither were his wife) and was sentenced to 11 days in jail. (1976) * James F. Hastings (R-NY) was convicted of taking kickbacks from his staff and mail fraud. He took the money from his employees and used it to buy cars, boats, school tuition and retirement. Served 14 months at Allenwood penitentiary. (1976) *
Richard Alvin Tonry Richard Alvin "Rick" Tonry (June 25, 1935 – July 3, 2012) was a Democratic Party politician from New Orleans, Louisiana. Education He graduated in 1962 from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. In 1967, he earned a law degree from Loyola ...
(D-LA) US Representative from the 1st District, pled guilty to illegal contributions and ballot box stuffing. He served four months in Congress and six months in jail. (1976) *
James R. Jones James Robert Jones (born May 5, 1939) is an American lawyer, diplomat, Democratic politician, a retired U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico under President Bill Clinton. Jones grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, ...
(D-OK) US Rep, pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge that he had failed to report a 1972 campaign contribution from Gulf Oil. (1976) *
John V. Dowdy John Vernard Dowdy (February 11, 1912 – April 12, 1995) was an American politician. Dowdy was a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from the 7th District of Texas from 1952 to 1967 and then served as a congressman from the 2nd ...
(D-TX) served 6 months in prison for perjury. (1973) *
Bertram L. Podell Bertram Lawrence "Bert" Podell (December 27, 1925 – August 17, 2005) was an American politician who served in the New York State Assembly for six terms and part of a seventh, and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ne ...
(D-NY) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and conflict of interest. He was fined $5,000 and served four months in prison. (1974) * Frank Brasco (D-NY) was sentenced to three months in jail and fined $10,000 for conspiracy to accept bribes from a reputed Mafia figure who sought truck leasing contracts from the Post Office and loans to buy trucks. * Frank Clark (D-PA) paid congressional salaries to 13 Pennsylvania residents who performed no official duties. * Wilbur Mills (D-AR) stepped down as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee after his affair with Argentinian stripper Fanne Fox was made public in 1974. * Ron A. Taylor (D-NC) US Representative from the 11th District, was accused of bribery and burning four tobacco warehouses of his political rival, Democratic State Senator J. J. Harrington. Taylor resigned his position and pled guilty to conspiracy as well as bribery. He served four years in prison. (1977)


Judicial branch

*
Otto Kerner Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician who served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circui ...
(D), US Judge of the 7th Circuit Court and former Illinois Governor, was indicted on charges of conspiracy, bribery, mail fraud, and income tax evasion related to accepting stock shares from a racing company and lying about it. He was convicted and resigned his position. (1974)


Jimmy Carter administration (D) (1977–1981)


Executive branch

* Debategate – An election briefing book for President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
was stolen and given to opponent
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
before the presidential election of 1980.


Legislative branch

* Daniel J. Flood (D-PA) was censured for bribery during the
96th United States Congress The 96th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 197 ...
. The allegations led to his resignation on January 31, 1980. * J. Herbert Burke (R-FL) US Representative, pleaded guilty to disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest, and nolo contendere to an additional charge of witness tampering. He was sentenced to three months plus fines. (1978) *
Robert E. Bauman Robert E. Bauman (born April 4, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 1st congressional district (1973–1981). Bauman was a ...
(R-MD) US Representative, was charged with soliciting sex from a teenage boy in gay bar. After counseling, the charges were dropped, but he lost his next two elections. (1980) *
Fred Richmond Frederick William Richmond (November 15, 1923 – December 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a Democratic four-term member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1975 to 1982. Early life Richmond was ...
(D-NY) received charges of soliciting sex from a 16-year-old boy were dropped after he submitted to counseling. (1978) *
Charles Diggs Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (December 2, 1922 – August 24, 1998) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who served in the state senate and U.S. House of Representatives. He was the first African American elected to Congress ...
(D-MI) was convicted on 29 charges of mail fraud and filing false payroll forms which formed a kickback scheme with his staff. Sentenced to 3 years (1978) *
Herman Talmadge Herman Eugene Talmadge (August 9, 1913 – March 21, 2002) was an American politician who served as governor of Georgia in 1947 and from 1948 to 1955 and as a U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981. Talmadge, a Democrat, served during a t ...
(D-GA) US Senator, was denounced by the Senate for "improper financial conduct" on October 11, 1979. He failed to be re-elected. * Michael Myers (D-PA) received suspended six-month jail term after pleading no contest to disorderly conduct charged stemming from an incident at a Virginia bar in which he allegedly attacked a hotel security guard and a cashier. * Charles H. Wilson (D-CA) was censured after he converted $25,000 in campaign funds to his own use and accepted $10,500 from a man with a direct interest in legislation before Congress. This was a later non-Park incident. * John Connally (R-TX) was accused of accepting a $10,000 bribe (Milk Money scandal). He was acquitted. (1975) * Richard Tonry (D-LA) pleaded guilty to receiving illegal campaign contributions. *
Koreagate "Koreagate" was an American political scandal in 1976 involving South Korean political figures seeking influence from 10 Democratic members of Congress. The scandal involved the uncovering of evidence that the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (K ...
scandal involving alleged bribery of more than 30 members of Congress by the South Korean government represented by
Tongsun Park Tongsun Park (born in 1935 Sunch'ŏn, Korea) is a former South Korean lobbyist. He was involved in two political money-related scandals: Koreagate scandal in the 1970s, and the Oil-for-Food Program scandal of the 2000s. Park had a reputation a ...
. Several other Koreans and Congressmen were allegedly involved, but not charged or reprimanded. The most notable are: #
Richard T. Hanna Richard Thomas Hanna (June 9, 1914 – June 9, 2001) was a U.S. Representative from California. He became involved in a scandal dubbed Koreagate by accepting bribes from a businessman working for the South Korean government. He was found guilty ...
(D-CA) pleaded guilty and sentenced to 6–30 months in federal prison. Wound up serving a year in prison. #
John J. McFall John Joseph McFall (February 20, 1918 – March 7, 2006) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the state of California, rising to the position of House Majority Whip. Early life and career McFall was ...
, Edward Roybal, and Charles H. Wilson, all (D-CA), were involved. Roybal was censured and Wilson was reprimanded, while McFall was reprimanded.


Judicial branch

*
Herbert Allan Fogel Herbert Allan Fogel (April 20, 1929 – September 18, 2002) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career Born on April 20, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvan ...
(R) Federal Judge of the Eastern Federal District of Pennsylvania (1973–1978), and nominated by Richard M. Nixon, resigned after investigation of a government contract in which he was forced to invoke the 5th Amendment. (1978) * Jack T. Camp (R) Federal Judge, Northern District of GA, appointed by
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, guilty of trying to purchase cocaine, firearms violations, aiding a felon. Resigned. Sentenced to 30 days. (2010)


Ronald Reagan (R) administrations (1981–1989)


Executive branch

* Operation Ill Wind was a three-year investigation launched in 1986 by the FBI into corruption by U.S. government and military officials, as well as private defense contractors. # Melvyn Paisley, appointed
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depa ...
in 1981 by Republican President Ronald Reagan, was found to have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. He pleaded guilty to bribery, resigned his office and served four years in prison. # James E. Gaines Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, took over when Paisley resigned his office. He was convicted of accepting an illegal gratuity, and theft and conversion of government property. He was sentenced to six months in prison. # Victor D. Cohen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, was the 50th conviction obtained under the Ill Wind probe when he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and conspiring to defraud the government. * The Housing and Urban Development scandal concerned bribery by selected contractors for low income housing projects. # Samuel Pierce, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was not charged because he made "full and public written acceptance of responsibility". #
James G. Watt James Gaius Watt (born January 31, 1938) is a public servant who served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1981 to 1983. He has been described as "anti-environmentalist", and was one of Ronald Reagan's most controversial cabinet appointments ...
, the Secretary of Interior from 1981 to 1983, was charged with 25 counts of perjury and obstruction of justice, sentenced to five years' probation, fined $5,000 and 500 hours of community service. # Deborah Gore Dean (R), Executive Assistant to Samuel Pierce (Secretary of HUD from 1981 to 1987, and not charged), was convicted of 12 counts of perjury, conspiracy, bribery. Sentenced to 21 months in prison. (1987) # Phillip D. Winn, Assistant Secretary of HUD from 1981 to 1982, pleaded guilty to bribery in 1994. # Thomas Demery, Assistant Secretary of HUD, pleaded guilty to bribery and obstruction. # Joseph A. Strauss, Special Assistant to the Secretary of HUD, was convicted of accepting payments to favor Puerto Rican land developers in receiving HUD funding. # Silvio D. DeBartolomeis was convicted of perjury and bribery. * Wedtech scandal – Wedtech Corporation was convicted of bribery for Defense Department contracts. # Edwin Meese (R)
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
resigned, but was never convicted. #
Lyn Nofziger Franklyn Curran "Lyn" Nofziger (June 8, 1924 – March 27, 2006) was an American journalist, conservative Republican political consultant and author. He served as press secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration as Governor of California ...
(R) White House
Press Secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dut ...
had a conviction of lobbying that was overturned. #
Mario Biaggi Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and police officer. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state), New York from 1969 to 1988. Prior to his polit ...
(D-NY) was sentenced to years in prison. * Savings and loan scandal – 747 institutions failed and had to be rescued with $160,000,000,000 of the taxpayer's money in connection with the
Keating Five File:AlanCranston.jpg, Alan Cranston (D-CA) File:Dennis DeConcini.jpg, File:John Glenn Low Res.jpg, John Glenn (D-OH) File:John McCain.jpg, John McCain (R-AZ) File:Riegle2.jpg, Donald Riegle (D-MI) The Keating Five were five United States Sen ...
. see Legislative scandals. * John M. Fedders (R) SEC Dir of Enforcement, in divorce testimony he admitted beating his wife and then resigned. (1985) * Emanuel S. Savas, appointed by Ronald Reagan to be Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, resigned on July 8, 1983, after an internal Justice Department investigation found he had ''abused his office'' by having his Government staff work on his private book on Government time. * Iran-Contra Affair (1985–1986) – In violation of an arms embargo, administration officials arranged to sell armaments to Iran in an attempt to improve relations with Iran and obtain their influence in the release of hostages held in Lebanon.
Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...
of the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
then diverted proceeds from the arms sale to fund Contra rebels attempting to overthrow the left-wing government of Nicaragua, which was in direct violation of Congress' Boland Amendment. Ronald Reagan appeared on TV stating there was no "arms for hostages" deal, but was later forced to admit, also on TV, that yes, there indeed had been: #
Caspar Weinberger Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the Californ ...
(R) Secretary of Defense, was indicted on two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice on June 16, 1992. Weinberger received a pardon from George H. W. Bush on December 24, 1992, before he was tried. # William Casey (R) Director of the CIA is thought to have conceived the plan, but was stricken ill hours before he would testify. Reporter
Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingt ...
records that Casey knew of and approved the plan. #
Robert C. McFarlane Robert Carl "Bud" McFarlane (July 12, 1937 – May 12, 2022) was an American Marine Corps officer who served as National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1983 to 1985. Within the Reagan administration, McFarlane was a leading a ...
National Security Adviser was convicted of withholding evidence, but after a plea bargain was given only two years' probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush #
Elliott Abrams Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer, who has served in foreign policy positions for presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. Abrams is considered to be a neoconservative. He is curren ...
(R) Assistant Secretary of State, was convicted of withholding evidence, but after a plea bargain was given only two years' probation. He was later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush # Alan D. Fiers Chief of the CIA's Central American Task Force, was convicted of withholding evidence and sentenced to one year's probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush #
Clair George Clair Elroy George (August 3, 1930 – August 11, 2011) was a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) clandestine service who oversaw all global espionage activities for the agency in the mid-1980s. According to ''The New York Times'', ...
Chief of Covert Ops-CIA was convicted on two charges of perjury, but was pardoned by President George H. W. Bush before sentencing. #
Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...
(R) Deputy Director of the National Security Council, was convicted of accepting an illegal gratuity, obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and destruction of documents, but the convictions were vacated, after the appeals court found that witnesses in his trial might have been impermissibly affected by his immunized congressional testimony. #
Fawn Hall Fawn Hall (born September 15, 1959) is a former secretary to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and had a small role in the Iran-Contra affair by helping North shred confidential documents. Early life Born in Annandale, Virginia, in 1959, Hall gr ...
, Oliver North's secretary, was given immunity from prosecution on charges of conspiracy and destroying documents in exchange for her testimony. #
John Poindexter John Marlan Poindexter (born August 12, 1936) is a retired United States naval officer and Department of Defense official. He was Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Advisor during the Reagan administration. He was convict ...
(R) National Security Advisor, was convicted of five counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury, defrauding the government, and the alteration and destruction of evidence. The Supreme Court overturned this ruling. # Duane Clarridge Ex-CIA senior official, was indicted in November 1991 on seven counts of perjury and false statements relating to a November 1985 shipment to Iran. He was pardoned before trial by President George H. W. Bush. #
Richard V. Secord Major General Richard Vernon Secord, Retired (born July 6, 1932), is a United States Air Force officer with a notable career in covert operations. Early in his military service, he was a member of the first U.S. aviation detachment sent to the ...
an ex-major general in the Air Force, who organized the Iran arms sales and Contra aid, pleaded guilty in November 1989 to making false statements to Congress. He was sentenced to two years of probation. #
Albert Hakim Albert A. Hakim (July 16, 1936 - April 25, 2003) was an Iranian-American businessman and a figure in the Iran-Contra affair. Born into a Jewish Iranian family, Hakim attended California Polytechnic Institute for three years, beginning in 1955. Ba ...
Businessman, pleaded guilty in November 1989 to supplementing the salary of Oliver North by buying him a $13,800 fence. Hakim was given two years of probation and a $5,000 fine, while his company, Lake Resources Inc. was ordered to dissolve. # Thomas G. Clines a former intelligence official, who became an arms dealer, was convicted in September 1990 on four income tax counts, including under-reporting of income to the IRS and lying about not having foreign accounts. He was sentenced to 16 months of prison and fined $40,000. # Carl R. Channell (R) a fund-raiser for conservative causes, pleaded guilty in April 1987 to defrauding the IRS via a tax-exempt organization to fund the Contras. He was sentenced to two years' probation. # Richard R. Miller associate to Carl R. Channell, pleaded guilty in May 1987 to defrauding the IRS via a tax-exempt organization led by Channell. More precisely, he pleaded guilty to lying to the IRS about the deductibility of donations to the organization. Some of the donations were used to fund the Contras. Sentenced to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service. # Joseph F. Fernandez CIA Station Chief of Costa Rica, was indicted on five counts in 1988. The case was dismissed when Attorney General
Dick Thornburgh Richard Lewis Thornburgh (July 16, 1932 – December 31, 2020) was an American lawyer, author, and Republican politician who served as the 41st governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the United States attorney general fr ...
refused to declassify information needed for his defense in 1990. *
Michael Deaver Michael Keith Deaver (April 11, 1938 – August 18, 2007) was a member of President Ronald Reagan's White House staff serving as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under James Baker III and Donald Regan from January 1981 until May 1985. Early ...
(R) Deputy Chief of Staff to Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1985, pleaded guilty to perjury related to lobbying activities and was sentenced to three years' probation and fined $100,000. * Sewergate was a scandal in which funds from the EPA were selectively used for projects which would aid politicians friendly to the Reagan administration. # Anne Gorsuch Burford, Head of the EPA, cut the EPA staff by 22% and refused to turn over documents to Congress about withholding funds, citing presidential " executive privilege", whereupon she was found in Contempt and resigned with twenty of her top employees. (1980) #
Rita Lavelle Rita Marie Lavelle (September 8, 1947) is a United States and California State Republican political figure. In 1984, Lavelle was convicted on federal charges of perjury related to an investigation into misuse of the United States Environmental P ...
a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, misused "superfund" monies and was convicted of perjury. She served six months in prison, was fined $10,000 and given five years' probation. * Louis O. Giuffrida (R), director of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
, was appointed in April 1981 by Ronald Reagan and resigned his position on September 1, 1985. His announcement came a day before a Congressional subcommittee was to approve a report detailing waste, fraud, and abuse at his agency. * Fred J. Villella, deputy director at
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
, had more than $70,000 in renovations made to part of a dormitory at an agency training center in Maryland for use as a residence, including an $11,000 stove, wet bar, microwave oven, fireplace and cherrywood cabinets. Villella accepted free tickets to the same Republican fund-raisers as Giuffrida and also was accused of sexually harassing a FEMA security guard he also used for private errands. He resigned in 1984. (1984) * J. Lynn Helms was appointed head of the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
by Ronald Reagan in April 1981. He was charged by the
Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
with diverting $1.2 million from an issue of tax-exempt municipal bonds to his own personal use. Mr. Helms signed an order that settled the case before trial, though he resigned his FAA post. * Veterans administration Chief Bob Nimmo was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. He resigned one year later just before a General Accounting Office report criticized him for improper such use of government funds. (1982) * John Fedders was appointed chief of enforcement for the
Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
by President Ronald Reagan. He was asked to resign his position after divorce proceedings, during which he admitted beating his wife. *
Peter Voss Peter Voss, sometimes misspelled as Foss, Vost or Vast (December 18, 1897 – 1976), was an Schutzstaffel, SS-''Oberscharführer'', known for his role as a commander of the crematoria and gas chambers at Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwit ...
(R) was appointed to the US Postal Service Board of Governors in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison and fined $11,000 for theft and accepting payoffs. He resigned his office in 1986, when he pleaded guilty. * Carlos Campbell (R) Asst Sec of Commerce to the EDA, he was accused of favoritism in awarding grants and being over zealous. Before an investigation could start he resigned. (1983) * Jim Petro (R), U.S. Attorney appointed by President Ronald Reagan, was dismissed and fined for tipping off an acquaintance about an ongoing Secret Service investigation. (1984) * William H. Kennedy, United States Attorney in San Diego, was dismissed by President Reagan after he mentioned that the CIA was involved in a smuggling case. (1982) *
Marjory Mecklenburg Marjory E. Malo Mecklenburg (born 1935) is an American government administrator. She has served as an advisor for the Office of Technology Assessment and was appointed by Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, serving i ...
(R) Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources used travel funds to see her son's Denver Bronco games. She resigned(1985) * Guy W. Fiske (R) Deputy Secretary of Commerce, after allegations of a conflict of interest in contract negotiations with satellite communications company Comsat, resigned. (1983)


Legislative branch

*
Mark Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Approp ...
(R-OR) US Senator and US Appropriations Chairman, revealed that his wife had been paid $55,000 by Greek arms dealer Basil Tsakos, who had been lobbying for a trans-African pipeline. (1984) *
David Durenberger David Ferdinand Durenberger (born August 19, 1934) is a retired American politician and attorney. Durenberger represented Minnesota in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1978 to 1995. He left the Republican Party in 2005 and has becom ...
(R-MN) Senator was denounced by the Senate for unethical financial transactions (1990) and then disbarred as an attorney. In 1995, he pled guilty to 5 misdemeanor counts of misuse of public funds and was given one year's probation. *
Barney Frank Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a former American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democrat, Frank served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committ ...
(D-MA) US Representative, lived with convicted felon Steve Gobie, who ran a gay prostitution operation from Frank's apartment without his knowledge. Frank was admonished by Congress for using his congressional privilege to eliminate 33 parking tickets attributed to Gobie. (1987) * Donald E. "Buz" Lukens (R-OH) was convicted of two counts of bribery and conspiracy. (1996) (See also
sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attenti ...
.) * Anthony Lee Coelho (D-CA) resigned rather than face inquiries from both the Justice Department and the House Ethics Committee about an allegedly unethical "junk bond" deal, which netted him $6,000. He was never charged with any crime. (1989) * Jim Wright (D-TX) US Representative and house Speaker, resigned after an ethics investigation led by Newt Gingrich alleged improper receipt of $145,000 in gifts (1989) *
Keating Five File:AlanCranston.jpg, Alan Cranston (D-CA) File:Dennis DeConcini.jpg, File:John Glenn Low Res.jpg, John Glenn (D-OH) File:John McCain.jpg, John McCain (R-AZ) File:Riegle2.jpg, Donald Riegle (D-MI) The Keating Five were five United States Sen ...
(1980–1989) The failure of Lincoln Savings and Loan led to Charles Keating donating to the campaigns of five Senators for help. Keating served 42 months in prison. The five were investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee which found that: # Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) was reprimanded. # Senator Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) acted improperly. # Senator Don Riegle (D-MI) acted improperly. # Senator John Glenn (D-OH) used poor judgment. # Senator John McCain (R-AZ) used poor judgment. * Abscam was an FBI sting involving fake "Arabs" trying to bribe 31 congressmen. (1980) The following six Congressmen were convicted: # Senator Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ) was convicted on nine counts of bribery and conspiracy, and was sentenced to three years in prison. # Representative John Jenrette (D-SC) was sentenced to two years in prison for bribery and conspiracy. # Richard Kelly (Florida politician), Richard Kelly (R-FL) accepted $25K and then claimed he was conducting his own investigation into corruption. Served 13 months. # Raymond Lederer (D-PA) said that "I can give you me" after accepting $50,000. He was sentenced to three years in prison. # Michael Myers (D-PA) accepted $50,000, saying "... money talks and bullshit walks." He was sentenced to three years in prison and was expelled from the House. # Frank Thompson (D-NJ) was sentenced to three years in prison. # John M. Murphy (D-NY) served 20 months of a three-year sentence. # Also arrested were NJ State Senator Angelo Errichetti (D) and members of the Philadelphia City Council. *
Mario Biaggi Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and police officer. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state), New York from 1969 to 1988. Prior to his polit ...
(D-NY) was part of the Wedtech scandal and was convicted of obstruction of justice accepting illegal gratuities. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $500,000. (1988) * Ernie Konnyu (R-CA) US Representative from the 12th District, was accused of sexual harassment by several female employees and retaliating against those who complained. He was ousted by fellow republicans and lost the next primary. (1987) * Pat Swindall (R-GA) was convicted of six counts of perjury. (1989) *
George V. Hansen George Vernon Hansen (September 14, 1930 – August 14, 2014) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, representing Idaho's 2nd district from 1965 to 1969 and again fr ...
(R-ID) was censured for failing to file out disclosure forms. He spent fifteen months in prison. * Frederick W. Richmond (D-NY) was convicted of tax evasion and possession of marijuana. He served nine months in prison. (1982) * Joshua Eilberg (D-PA) pleaded guilty to conflict-of-interest charges. In addition, he convinced President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
(D) to fire the U.S. Attorney investigating his case. * Robert E. Bauman (R-MD) was charged with soliciting sex from a teenage boy. Counseling was ordered, but he lost his next two elections. (1980)


Judicial branch

* Alcee Hastings (D-FL) Federal District Court Judge was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of soliciting a bribe. (1989) * Harry Claiborne (D-NV) Federal District Court Judge was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate on two counts of tax evasion. He served over one year in prison. * J. William Petro (R) U.S. Attorney in Ohio, was found guilty of criminal contempt of court for leaking confidential information. He was removed from office. (1985) * Walter Nixon (D) US Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, was accused of asking a local DA to stop prosecuting the son of a donor to
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. He was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to five years in prison. Still a US Judge while imprisoned, he was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of perjury and removed from office. (1983) * Robert Frederick Collins (D) US District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana appointed by
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
. Collins was accused of accepting bribes from a marijuana smuggler in exchange for a lighter sentence. He was found guilty of bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice and sentenced to five years in prison. (1991)


George H. W. Bush (R) administration (1989–1993)


Executive branch

*
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
George H. W. Bush (R) denied any knowledge of the Iran–Contra affair during his election campaign by saying he was "out of the loop". His own diaries of that time, though, stated "I'm one of the few people that know fully the details ..." He repeatedly refused to disclose this to investigators during the investigation and thus won the election. (1988) * Catalina Vasquez Villalpando (R), Treasurer of the United States, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and tax evasion, making her the only US Treasurer ever sent to prison. (1992) * Iran-Contra Affair pardons – On December 24, 1992, George H. W. Bush (R) granted clemency to four convicted government officials as well as Caspar Weinberger and Duane Clarridge, whose trials had not yet begun. This action prevented any further investigation into the matter. #
Caspar Weinberger Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the Californ ...
, United States Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Defense under Ronald Reagan, pardoned before trial # Robert McFarlane, Robert C. McFarlane, National Security Advisor (United States), National Security Advisor to Ronald Reagan, guilty of withholding information, #
Elliott Abrams Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer, who has served in foreign policy positions for presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. Abrams is considered to be a neoconservative. He is curren ...
, Assistant Secretary of State to Ronald Reagan, guilty of withholding information, #
Clair George Clair Elroy George (August 3, 1930 – August 11, 2011) was a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) clandestine service who oversaw all global espionage activities for the agency in the mid-1980s. According to ''The New York Times'', ...
, CIA Chief of Covert Ops, guilty of perjury # Alan D. Fiers, Chief of the CIA's Central American Task Force, guilty of withholding information # Duane Clarridge, CIA Operations Officer, pardoned before trial


Legislative branch

* Charles "Chig" Cagle (R) District Chairman for US Representative Charles H. Taylor (R-NC) was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering concerning Taylor's Blue Ridge Saving Bank. Martin was sentenced to two years' probation. (1993) * Albert Bustamante (D-TX) was convicted of accepting bribes. (1993) * Lawrence J. Smith (D-FL) pleaded guilty to tax fraud and lying to federal election officials and served three months in jail, fined $5,000, 2 years' probation and back taxes of $40,000. (1993) * Senator
David Durenberger David Ferdinand Durenberger (born August 19, 1934) is a retired American politician and attorney. Durenberger represented Minnesota in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1978 to 1995. He left the Republican Party in 2005 and has becom ...
(R-MN) was denounced by the Senate for unethical financial transactions and then disbarred in 1990. He pleaded guilty to misuse of public funds and was given one year's probation and fined. (1995) * Donald "Buz" Lukens, Donald E. "Buz" Lukens (R-OH) was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for having sex with a 16-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $500. (1989)


Judicial branch

* Clarence Thomas (R), Supreme Court nominee, was accused of sexual harassment by eight former employees including Anita Hill, but was approved anyway. * Walter Nixon, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate for perjury on November 3, 1989. * Robert Frederick Collins (D) Judge of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana appointed by
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
. He was charged with obstruction and accepting bribe money from a drug dealer in exchange for a lighter sentence. $17,500 in marked bills were found in his chambers. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison and disbarred. (1991)


Bill Clinton (D) administrations (1993–2001)


Executive branch

*
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Bill Clinton (D) was accused by the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives and Impeachment of Bill Clinton, impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice for lying under oath about consensual sexual relations with a member of his staff, Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was acquitted by the United States Senate, Senate and remained in office for the rest of his term. Clinton subsequently was cited for contempt of court by the Arkansas Law Association and agreed to a five-year suspension from practicing law in Arkansas. (1998) * Ronald Blackley (D) Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, was sentenced to 27 months for perjury in a case involving improper gifts that also included Espy. Secretary Espy was found not guilty. * David Watkins (D) Director of the Office of Administration used the White House helicopter, Marine One, to fly to a nearby golf course for an afternoon game. Ostensibly to check out security issues, Watkins later admitted it was just to play golf and resigned. (1994) * Darleen A. Druyun (D), Principal Deputy United States Under Secretary of the Air Force. She pleaded guilty to inflating the price of contracts to favor her future employer, Boeing. In October 2004, she was sentenced to nine months in jail for corruption, fined $5,000, given three years of supervised release and 150 hours of community service. (2005). CBS News called it "the biggest Pentagon scandal in 20 years" and said that she pleaded guilty to a felony. * Catalina Vasquez Villalpando (R) US Treasurer, convicted of obstruction and tax evasion. She was sentenced to 4 months and fined. (1994)


Legislative branch

* Newt Gingrich (R-GA), the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, US House of Representatives, was charged $300,000 in sanctions by the majority Republican House ethics committee for an unethical book deal leading to his eventual resignation from office. (1997) * Wes Cooley (politician), Wes Cooley (R-OR) was convicted of having lied on the 1994 voter information pamphlet about his service in the Army. He was fined and sentenced to two years' probation. (1994) * Dan Burton (R-IN) US Representative and a combative critic of the Clinton/Lewinsky affair, admitted that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. (1998) * Austin Murphy (D-PA) was convicted of engaging in voter fraud for filling out absentee ballots for members of a nursing home. * Nicholas Mavroules (D-MA) pleaded guilty to bribery charges. * Bob Packwood (R-OR) was accused of sexual misconduct by nineteen women. He fought the allegations, but eventually, the US Senate Ethics Committee found him guilty of a "pattern of abuse of his position of power and authority" and recommended that he be expelled from the Senate. He resigned on September 7, 1995. * House banking scandal – The House of Representatives Bank found that 450 members had overdrawn their checking accounts, but had not been penalized. Six were convicted of charges, most only tangentially related to the House Bank itself. Twenty two more of the most prolific over-drafters were singled out by the House Ethics Committee. (1992) # Buzz Lukens (R-OH) was convicted of bribery and conspiracy. # Carl C. Perkins (D-KY) pleaded guilty to a check kiting, check-kiting scheme involving several financial institutions (including the House Bank). # Carroll Hubbard (D-KY) was convicted of illegally funneling money to his wife's 1992 campaign to succeed him in congress. # Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH) was charged with seven felonies, but pleaded guilty only to a misdemeanor campaign finance charge not related to the House Bank. # Walter Fauntroy (D-DC) was convicted of filing false disclosure forms in order to hide unauthorized income. # Jack Russ, House Sergeant-at-Arms, was convicted of three counts. * The Congressional Post Office scandal (1991–1995) was a conspiracy to embezzle House Post Office money through stamps and postal vouchers to congressmen. # Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison in 1995. # Joseph P. Kolter, Joe Kolter (D-PA) was convicted of one count of conspiracy and sentenced to 6 months in prison. # Postmaster Robert V. Rota was convicted of one count of conspiracy and two counts of embezzlement. * Jay Kim, Jay C. Kim (R-CA) plea guilty in 1997 to accepting $230,000 in illegal foreign and corporate campaign donations, including one-third of all donations to his initial 1992 campaign for Congress after a long term running FBI Investigation in Los Angeles, CA. At the time, it was a record for campaign violations. Kim was sentenced to House arrest and fined $20,000, and subsequently lost re-election in the 1998 Republican Primary Election for the 41st Congressional District in California. (1997) * Charles Warren (R) Chief of Staff to Chris Cannon (R-UT) US Representative, resigned after acknowledging an improper sexual relationship with a subordinate who alleged he coerced her into an unwanted affair of "consensual contact without sex". (1997) * Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) US Representative, was found guilty of failure to properly report campaign contributions and fined. (1996) # Rhonda Carmony (R) Campaign Manager and wife of State Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R) was the key instigator of a Republican effort to manipulate the 67th California State District election by fostering the candidacy of decoy candidate Laurie Campbell (D) to undermine the candidacy of popular Democrat Linda Moulton-Patterson. Carmony pled guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation and 300 hours of community service and was fined. (1996) # Jack Wenpo Wu (R) Campaign Treasurer for Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) US Representative, embezzled over $300K. He was repaying the money when he was found guilty and sentenced to 1 year and 5 years' probation (2015) # Enid Greene Mickelsen (Waldholtz) (R) U.S. Representative, was found guilty on four counts of violating FEC rules and paid $100,000 in fines for campaign violations. (1994) # Joe Waldholtz (R) Campaign Manager and husband of Enid Greene Waldholtz (R) pled guilty to federal charges of tax, bank, and campaign fraud, embezzling and forgery(1995) and then, while out on parole, was subsequently convicted of forging insurance and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs checks from his stepmother and his late father. * Hayes Martin (R) Campaign Treasurer to US Representative Charles H. Taylor (R-NC) was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering concerning Taylor's Blue Ridge Saving Bank. Martin was found guilty and sentenced to two years' probation. (1993) * Charles "Chig" Cagle (R) District Republican Party Chairman for US Representative Charles H. Taylor (R-NC) was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering concerning Taylor's Blue Ridge Saving Bank. Cagle was found guilty and sentenced to two years' probation. (1993) * Bob Livingston (R-LA) US Representative from the 1st District, was calling for the impeachment of Bill Clinton when pornographer Larry Flynt accused Livingston of multiple counts of adultery. He acknowledged he had "strayed from my marriage" and resigned. (1999) * Mel Reynolds (D-IL) US Representative from the Illinois 2nd District, was accused of sexual misconduct and obstruction of justice including sex with a minor and was found guilty. He resigned his seat and was sentenced to five years. (1994)


George W. Bush (R) administrations (2001–2009)


Executive branch

* Joseph E. Schmitz (R) was nominated by President George W. Bush (R) to be Defense Department Inspector General on June 18, 2001. He resigned on September 9, 2005, in the wake of several allegations by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), including that he had obstructed the FBI investigation of John A. Shaw. * Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal (2007) about substandard conditions for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center including long delays in treatment, rodent infestation and outbreaks of mold resulted in the relief of three senior staff; # Francis J. Harvey (R) Secretary of the Army, appointed by G. W. Bush, resigned # Maj. Gen. George Weightman ( ) was fired for failures linked to the scandal # Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley (R) appointed by G. W. Bush, was relieved of command resigned for failures linked to the scandal. * Timothy Goeglein, Special Assistant to President Bush, resigned in 2008 when it was discovered that more than twenty of his columns had been plagiarized from an Indiana newspaper. * Scott Bloch was appointed by President George W. Bush to head the United States Office of Special Counsel. On April 27, 2010, Bloch pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of Congress for "willfully and unlawfully withholding pertinent information from a House committee investigating his decision to have several government computers wiped...." On February 2, Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson ruled that Bloch faces a mandatory sentence of at least one month in prison. * Scooter Libby, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney (R), was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame affair on March 6, 2007. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000. The sentence was commuted by George W. Bush on July 1, 2007. The felony remains on Libby's record, though the jail time and fine were commuted. President Donald Trump fully pardoned Libby on April 13, 2018. * Alphonso Jackson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, resigned while under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged cronyism and favoritism * Karl Rove, Senior Adviser to President George W. Bush, was investigated by the Office of Special Counsel for "improper political influence over government decision-making", as well as for his involvement in several other scandals such as Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, Lawyergate, Bush White House email controversy and Plame affair. He resigned in April 2007. (See Karl Rove in the George W. Bush administration) * Richard J. Griffin, the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security appointed by George W. Bush who made key decisions regarding the department's oversight of private security contractor Blackwater USA, resigned in November 2007, after a critical review by the House Oversight Committee found that his office had failed to adequately supervise private contractors during the Blackwater Baghdad shootings protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq. * Republican contributor Howard Krongard was appointed Inspector General of the US State Department by President George W. Bush in 2005. was accused by the House Oversight Committee of improperly interfering with investigations into private security contractor Blackwater USA concerning the Blackwater Baghdad shootings. Krongard resigned in December 2007. * "Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, Lawyergate" or the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy refers to President Bush firing, without explanation, eleven Republican federal prosecutors whom he himself had appointed. It is alleged that they were fired for prosecuting Republicans and ''not'' prosecuting Democrats. When Congressional hearings were called, a number of senior United States Department of Justice, Justice Department officials cited executive privilege and refused to testify under oath and instead resigned, including: #
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Alberto Gonzales # Karl Rove, Advisor to President Bush # Harriet Miers, Legal Counsel to President Bush, was found in Contempt of Congress # Michael A. Battle (attorney), Michael A. Battle, Director of Executive Office of US Attorneys in the United States Department of Justice, Justice Department # Bradley Schlozman, Director of Executive Office of US Attorneys who replaced Battle # Michael Elston, Chief of Staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty # Paul McNulty, Deputy Attorney General to William Mercer # William W. Mercer, Associate Attorney General to Alberto Gonzales # Kyle Sampson, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales # Monica Goodling, Liaison between President Bush and the Justice Department # Joshua Bolten, Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush was found in Contempt of Congress # Sara Taylor, Sara M. Taylor, Aide to Presidential Advisor Karl Rove * Bush White House email controversy – During the Lawyergate investigation it was discovered that the Bush administration used Republican National Committee (RNC) web servers for millions of emails which were then destroyed, lost or deleted in possible violation of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act of 1939, Hatch Act. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Andrew Card, Sara Taylor and J. Scott Jennings, Scott Jennings all used RNC webservers for the majority of their emails. Of 88 officials investigated, 51 showed no emails at all. As many as five million emails requested by Congressional investigators were therefore unavailable, lost, or deleted. * Lurita Alexis Doan (R) Administrator of General Services, investigated for "the most pernicious of political activity" at work. The team also recommended she be "disciplined to the fullest extent". Among other things she asked GSA employees how they could "help Republican candidates". She resigned. (2000) * J. Steven Griles (R) Deputy to the
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...
pled guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 10 months. * John Korsmo, chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board, pleaded guilty to lying to congress and sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and fined $5,000. (2005) * Philip Cooney (R) Bush appointed to chair the Council on Environmental Quality, was accused of editing government climate reports to emphasize doubts about global warming. Two days later, Cooney announced his resignation and later conceded his role in altering reports. Stating "My sole loyalty was to the President and advancing the policies of his administration". * The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal involved
Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
, a prominent Republican lobbyist with close ties to administration officials, legislators, and staff who offered bribes as part of his lobbying efforts. Abramoff was sentenced to 4 years in prison. See also George W. Bush's legislative branch for 11 legislators and staff caught in the investigation. Executive branch personnel involved include: # David Safavian (R) CoS of the GSA (General Services Administration) was convicted of making false statements as part of the Jack Abramoff lobbying and corruption scandal and was sentenced to one year in prison. (2005) found guilty of blocking justice and lying, and sentenced to 18 months # Roger Stillwell (R) staff in the United States Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior, pleaded guilty and received two years suspended sentence. # Susan B. Ralston (R) Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to Karl Rove, resigned on October 6, 2006, after it became known that she accepted gifts and passed information to her former boss
Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
. # J. Steven Griles (R) Deputy to the
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...
pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 10 months # Italia Federici (R) staff to the
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...
and President of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, pled guilty to tax evasion and obstruction of justice. She was sentenced to four years' probation. # Jared Carpenter (R) Vice President of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, was discovered during the Abramoff investigation and pled guilty to income tax evasion. He got 45 days, plus 4 years' probation. # Mark Zachares (R) staff in the United States Department of Labor, Department of Labor, bribed by Abramoff, guilty of conspiracy to defraud. # Robert E. Coughlin (R) Deputy Chief of Staff of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, pleaded guilty to conflict of interest after accepting bribes from
Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
. (2008) * Kyle Foggo (R) CIA Executive Director was convicted of honest services fraud in the awarding of a government contract and sentenced to 37 months in federal prison at Pine Knot, Kentucky. On September 29, 2008, Foggo pleaded guilty to one count of the indictment, admitting that while he was the CIA executive director, he acted to steer a CIA contract to the firm of his lifelong friend, Brent R. Wilkes. * Julie A. MacDonald, Julie MacDonald (R) Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior, resigned on May 1, 2007, after giving government documents to developers (2007) * Claude Allen (R) appointed as an advisor by President Bush (R) on Domestic Policy, was arrested for a series of felony thefts in retail stores. (2006) * Lester Crawford, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, resigned after two months. He pleaded guilty to conflict of interest and received a 3-year suspended sentence and fined $90,000 (2006) * The 2003 Invasion of Iraq depended on intelligence that Saddam Hussein was developing "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs) meaning nuclear, chemical and/or biological weapons for offensive use. As revealed by The (British) Downing Street memo "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the policy" The press called this the "smoking gun". (2005) * Niger uranium forgeries, Yellowcake forgery – Just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration presented evidence to the UN that Iraq was seeking material (yellowcake uranium) in Africa for making nuclear weapons. Though presented as true, it was later found to be not only dubious, but outright false. * Coalition Provisional Authority Cash Payment Scandal – On June 20, 2005, the staff of the Committee on Government Reform prepared a report for Congressman Henry Waxman. It was revealed that $12 billion in cash had been delivered to Iraq by Lockheed C-130 Hercules, C-130 planes, on shrinkwrapped pallets of US$100 bills. The United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, concluded that "Many of the funds appear to have been lost to corruption and waste.... Some of the funds could have enriched both criminals and insurgents...." Henry Waxman, commented, "Who in their right mind would send 363 tons of cash into a war zone?" A single flight to Iraq on December 12, 2003, which contained $1.5 billion in cash is said to be the largest single Federal Reserve payout in US history. * Bush administration payment of columnists were done with federal funds to say nice things about Republican policies. Illegal payments were made to journalists Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Mike McManus (columnist), Michael McManus (2004–2005) * John A. Shaw (R) was appointed by George W. Bush as Under Secretary of Defense. He was investigated on corruption although charges were never filed against him, he was asked to resign in 2004. When he refused to resign, he was fired by the Bush administration on December 10, 2004. * The Bernard Kerik nomination in 2004 as United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of Homeland Security was derailed by past employment of an illegal alien as a nanny, and other improprieties. On November 4, 2009, he pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud and five counts of lying to the federal government and was sentenced to four years in prison. *Felipe Sixto, Special Assistant to President George W. Bush (R) as well as deputy director in the Office of Public Liaison, was investigated for misuse of funds from July 2007 while working in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Sixto then pled guilty to embezzlement of $644,884 from the Center for a Free Cuba. On March 18, 2009, Sixto was found guilty, resigned, repaid the theft, was fined and sentenced to 30 months in prison. (2008) * Elliott Broidy (R) Chairman of Finance for the Republican National Committee was accused of bribing several NY state pension officials in exchange for investments in his own private equity fund. He pled guilty, but because of his cooperation the charge was dropped from a felony for attempting to provide excess gratuity, to a misdemeanor and he avoided jail, but was ordered to forfeit $18,000,000. (2008) * Plame affair – CIA agent Valerie Plame's name was leaked by Richard Armitage (naval officer), Richard Armitage, United States Deputy Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of State, to the press in retaliation for her husband's criticism of the reports used by George W. Bush to legitimize the Iraq war. Armitage admitted he was the leak but no wrongdoing was found. * Thomas A. Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), withheld information from Congress about the projected cost of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, and allegedly threatened to fire Medicare's chief actuary, Richard Foster, if Foster provided the data to Congress. (2003) A few days after the bill was signed, Scully resigned (2003). * NSA warrantless surveillance (2001–2007), NSA warrantless surveillance – Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, President George W. Bush (R) implemented a secret program by the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on domestic telephone calls by American citizens without warrants, thus by-passing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA court which must approve all such actions. (2002) In 2010, Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled this practice to be illegal. * Janet Rehnquist (daughter of former Chief Justice of the United States, Chief Justice William Rehnquist) was the appointed Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services by George W. Bush. In 2002, Governor Jeb Bush's (R-FL) Chief of Staff Kathleen Shanahan asked Rehnquist to delay auditing a $571 million federal overpayment to the State of Florida. Rehnquist ordered her staff to delay the investigation for five months until after the Florida elections. When Congress began an investigation into the matter, Rehnquist resigned in March 2003, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family. * Jerry Pierce-Santos (R) Co-Financial Chairman of the Republican National Committee and a member of the Bush-Cheney ’04 Finance Committee, was accused with 10 others of acting as a conduit for $17,000 in illegal contributions to an unnamed Republican candidate for federal office. He pled guilty to one count. (2003) * John Yoo, an attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel of the Justice Department, worked closely with vice president Dick Cheney (R) and the Bush Six. He wrote memos stating the right of the president to – # suspend sections of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, ABM Treaty without informing Congress # bypass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allowing warrantless wiretapping of US Citizens within the United States by the National Security Agency. # state that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment and Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourth Amendments and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Takings Clause do not apply to the president in time of war as defined in the Patriot Act, USA Patriot Act # allow enhanced interrogation techniques (torture) because provisions of the War Crimes Act of 1996, War Crimes Act, the Third Geneva Convention, and the United Nations Convention against Torture, Torture convention do not apply. Many of his memos have since been repudiated and reversed. Later review by the Justice Department reported that Yoo and Jay Bybee had used "poor judgement" in the memos, but no charges were filed. * Carl Truscott (R) Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, was appointed in 2004 but was soon under investigation for his abusive management style and allegations of lavish spending and misuse of resources, including requiring a large number of agents as personal security, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of expensive upgrades to the ATF headquarters building, adding a new garage to his house, detailing 20 agents to help with his nephew's high school project and other examples of poor financial judgment. Truscott resigned as the ATF Director on August 4, 2006. * John David Roy Atchison (R) Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, was arrested for intentions of having sex with a five-year-old. Atchison committed suicide before trial while in custody. (2007) * Darleen A. Druyun was the Principal Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force nominated by Bill Clinton in 1993. She pled guilty to inflating the price of contracts to favor her future employer, Boeing. In October 2004, she was sentenced to nine months in jail for corruption, fined $5,000, given three years of supervised release and 150 hours of community service. She began her prison term on January 5, 2005. CBS News called it "the biggest Pentagon scandal in 20 years" and said that she pleaded guilty to a felony. * Randall L. Tobias (R) US Director of Foreign Assistance, appointed by Republican President President George W. Bush was found to have been a client in the DC Madame prostitution investigation. Having officially encouraged abstinence, he resigned his position. (2007) * Courtney Stadd Chief of Staff of NASA and White House Liaison was accused of giving $9.6M of NASA funds to one of his clients, Mississippi State University and was convicted of ethics violations and sentenced to six months of house arrest. He was also charged with steering a separate $600,000 NASA remote sensing contract to MSU and asking for kickbacks and then submitting falsified invoices to stop a NASA investigation. To this second charge he was found guilty and sentenced to 41 months in prison. (2009)


Legislative branch

* James W. Treffinger (R-NJ) a US senatorial candidate pleaded guilty in 2003 to corruption and fraud as Chief Executive of Essex County and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution and serve 13 months in jail.(2002) * Ted Stevens (R-AK) U.S. Senator, was convicted of seven counts of bribery and tax evasion on October 27, 2008. He then lost re-election. Newly appointed US Attorney General Eric Holder (D) dismissed the charges "in the interest of justice" stating that the Justice Department had illegally withheld evidence from defense counsel. * Charles Rangel (D-NY) U.S. Representative, failed to report $75,000 income from the rental of his villa in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and was forced to pay $11,000 in back taxes. (September 2008) * Duke Cunningham (R-CA) US Representative from the 50th District, was accused of accepting $2.5 million in bribes (which included a 42-foot yacht and a Rolls-Royce) from contractors doing business with the US government. He pled guilty to charges of conspiracy, bribery, mail fraud, and tax evasion in what came to be called the Cunningham scandal. He was tried and found guilty and sentenced to over eight years in prison. (2005) * Rick Renzi (R-AZ) announced he would not seek another term.* He was later sentenced to three years in prison after conviction on federal corruption charges of extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering related to a 2005 money-laundering scheme that netted the Flagstaff Republican more than $700,000. (2005) * Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned on September 29, 2006, after Mark Foley congressional page incident, sending sexually explicit messages to former Page of the United States House of Representatives, Congressional pages. * Jim Gibbons (American politician), Jim Gibbons (R-NV) US House of Representatives from the 2nd District was campaigning for Governor when he walked waitress Chrissy Mazzeo to her car. She claimed he threw her against a wall and threatened to sexually assault her. He claimed she tripped and he caught her. The civil lawsuit was settled by the payment of $50,000 to Mazzeo. Six weeks later he was elected governor. See State scandals. (2006) * Tom DeLay (R-TX) US Representative and House Majority Leader, served from 1985 to 2006 when he resigned his position to undergo trial for conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations and money laundering during the 2002 elections. On November 24, 2010, DeLay was found guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison and 10 years' probation, respectively. The ruling was overturned on appeal. On September 19, 2013, the conviction was overturned. * Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal (R) The lobbyist found guilty of conspiracy, tax evasion and corruption of public officials in three different courts in a wide-ranging investigation. He served 70 months and was fined $24.7 million. See George W. Bush's executive branch for eight others caught in the investigation. Legislators and staff involved include; # Tom DeLay (R-TX) US Representative and House Majority Leader was reprimanded twice by the House Ethics Committee and his aides indicted (2004–2005); eventually DeLay himself was investigated in October 2005 in connection with the Abramoff scandal, but not indicted. DeLay resigned from the House June 9, 2006. DeLay was found to have illegally channeled funds from Americans for a Republican Majority to Republican state legislator campaigns. He was convicted of two counts of money laundering and conspiracy in 2010. His conviction was overturned on appeal. # Michael Scanlon (R) Communications Director to Tom DeLay, worked for Abramoff and pled guilty to bribery. # Tony Rudy (R) Deputy CoS to Tom DeLay, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. # Jim Ellis (California political activist), Jim Ellis (R) Executive Director of Tom DeLay's Political Action Committee Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC), was found guilty of money laundering. # John Colyandro (R) Executive Director of Tom DeLay's political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), was indicted by Texas for money laundering # Bob Ney (R-OH) US Representative pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements as a result of his receiving trips from Abramoff in exchange for legislative favors. Ney received 30 months in prison. # William Heaton (R) CoS to Bob Ney, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud admitting to conspiring with Ney,
Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
and others to accept vacations, meals, tickets, and contributions to Ney's campaign in exchange for Ney benefitting Abramoff's clients. (2006) # Neil Volz (R) former CoS to Bob Ney, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in 2006 charges stemming from his work for Bob Ney. In 2007 he was sentenced to two years' probation, 100 hours' community service, and a fine of $2,000. # John Albaugh (R) former CoS to Ernest Istook (R-OK), pled guilty to accepting bribes connected to the Federal Highway Bill. Istook was not charged. (2008) # James Hirni (R) former staff to Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), was charged with wire fraud for giving a staffer for Don Young (R) of Alaska a bribe in exchange for amendments to the Federal Highway Bill. (2008) # Kevin A. Ring (R) former staff to John Doolittle (R-CA), was convicted of five charges of corruption and honest services fraud. sentenced to 20 months. # Fraser Verrusio (R) Policy Director for US Senator Don Young (R-AK) of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was investigated during the Jack Abramoff scandals. Verrusio drafted favorable federal legislation for equipment rental companies through the Abramoff firm. He was accused of accepting bribes, such as tickets to the World Series and then lying about it. He was sentenced to a half day in jail, 2 years probation and fined. (2011) * David Vitter (R-LA) US Senator, Vitters' name was discovered in the address book of DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey. He admitted his adultery and lost his race for governor. (2007) * Cunningham scandal named after Duke Cunningham, Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) US Representative, pleaded guilty on November 28, 2005, to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. Sentenced to over eight years. # Mitchell Wade private contractor and "co-conspirator" with Cunningham # Kyle Foggo Director of the CIA and friend to Wilkes, convicted of fraud # Brent R. Wilkes private contractor * Tan D. Nguyen, Tan Nguyen (R-CA) US Representative candidate for the 47th District, was convicted of voter intimidation. He lost the election and was sentenced to one year in prison and six months in a halfway house. (2006) * Adam Taff (R-KS) 3rd US Congressional District candidate, was indicted for converting funds given for his campaign and used them for his personal use and for wire fraud in a deal to buy a home. He was found guilty and sentenced to 15 months in prison. (2006) * William J. Jefferson (D-LA) US Representative had $90,000 in cash in his home freezer seized by the FBI in August 2005. He was re-elected anyway, but lost in 2008. Jefferson was convicted of 11 counts of bribery and sentenced to 13 years on November 13, 2009, and his chief of staff Brett Pfeffer was sentenced to 84 months in a related case. * Bill Janklow (R-SD) was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for running a stop sign and killing a motorcyclist. He resigned from the House and was given 100 days in the county jail and three years' probation (2003) * Jim Traficant (D-OH) was found guilty on ten felony counts of financial corruption and was sentenced to 8 years in prison and expelled from the House. (2002) * John E. Sweeney (R-NY) US Representative from 20th US District, was arrested in 2007 and again in 2009 for DWI. He was sentenced to 23 days in jail with 3 years' probation. (2009) * Vito Fossella (R-NY) US Representative, 13th District, was arrested for drunk driving. He was found guilty of driving with twice the legal limit and sentenced to 5 days in prison. This led to the revelation that the married congressman had a longtime affair with another woman which had produced a child. He did not run for re-election. (2008)


Barack Obama (D) administrations (2009–2017)


Executive branch

* Katherine Archuleta (D) Director of the Office of Personnel Management, resigned on July 10, 2015, after taking responsibility for cyber intrusions into her department that allowed the theft of data concerning 22 million people. * Secretary of Veterans Affairs General Eric Shinseki, resigned after Veterans Administration officials in the Phoenix, AZ, hospital lied about the length of wait times for veterans to see a doctor. See Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014. * IRS targeting controversy: Steven T. Miller, Acting Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory t ...
, resigned after the IRS admitted to investigating conservative political groups associated with the Tea Party movement, Tea Party to see if they actually met the criteria for the tax exemptions they were claiming. Later, it was found that the IRS also investigated progressive groups as well, and there has been no intentional wrongdoing discovered in the investigations. Other actions arising from the controversy included: # Lois Lerner, head of the IRS Office of Exempt Organizations, stated she had not done anything wrong and then took the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Self-incrimination, Fifth before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She retired in 2013 after an internal IRS investigation found that she had neglected her duties and was going to call for her ouster. # Joseph H. Grant, Commissioner of the IRS Tax-exempt and Government Entities division, resigned on May 16, 2013. * ATF gunwalking scandal – Attorney General Eric Holder (D) was held in Contempt of Congress after refusing to release all documents which the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives had demanded concerning the Operation Fast and Furious, Fast and Furious gun walking operation. He did not resign and no charges were brought. (2012) * Terence Flynn (R) an appointee of Barack Obama to the National Labor Relations Board, resigned in May 2012, after being accused of ethical violations by leaking Board information to the National Association of Manufacturers. * Martha N. Johnson (D) head of the General Services Administration, fired two top GSA officials and then resigned herself after it was revealed that $822,000 had been spent in Las Vegas on a four-day training conference for 300 GSA employees. (2010) * David Petraeus (I) resigned as Director of the CIA on November 9, 2012, having pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified materials, after admitting to giving them to his biographer with whom he was having a sexual relationship. He was given two years' probation and fined $100,000. See Petraeus scandal (2012) * William Mendoza, the former executive director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education, was charged with attempted voyeurism in November 2016 while using his government issued iPhone to take pictures up the skirts of several women on the D.C. Metro. He was indicted and resigned three days later. He then pled guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, which were suspended. (2016) * Barvetta Singletary, a senior White House aide was charged with assault in a Washington, D.C. suburb after reportedly threatening and firing a shot into the floor of her boyfriend. She was indicted and resigned the next day. (2015)


Legislative branch

* J. Nathan Deal (R) U.S. Representative from District 9, was under investigation for financial improprieties and using his staff to pressure Georgia officials to continue a vehicle inspection program that benefitted his family's auto business. An initial report by the US Office of Congressional Ethics called for further investigation, where upon Deal resigned from his seat even before the initial report was released. (2010) * David G. Bowser (R) Chief of Staff for Paul Broun (R) U.S. Representative for Georgia's 10th Congressional District, was accused of misusing government funds by using them to pay for a political consultant to work on the election of Collins. Bowser was found guilty of obstruction, concealment and making false statements and sentenced to four months in prison and two years' supervision. (2016) * Chaka Fattah (D-PA) from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
's Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district, 2nd district was found guilty to 23 charges including racketeering, money laundering and fraud. He was sentenced to 10 years and resigned from Congress on June 23, 2016. * Joe Wilson (American politician), Joe Wilson (R-SC) US Representative from the 2nd District, shouted "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during a State of the Union Speech. He later apologized. (2009) * Anthony Weiner (D-NY) from New York's 9th congressional district resigned from Congress in June 2011 when the first of what would become Anthony Weiner sexting scandals, multiple sexting scandals were made public. * David Wu (D-OR) US Representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district announced he would resign from Congress, four days after a report that a young woman called his office complaining of an "unwanted sexual encounter" with the congressman. * Chris Lee (New York politician), Chris Lee (R-NY) US Representative for resigned after he solicited a woman on Craigslist and emailed a shirtless photo of himself. (2011) * Jeffrey A. Garcia (D), Campaign Manager for US Representative Joe Garcia (D-FL) (no relation), was accused of voter fraud for unlawfully submitting online absentee-ballot requests for thousands of unsuspecting voters. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 18 months of probation. (2010) * Dennis Hastert (R-IL) US Representative, pleaded guilty to charges that he violated banking rules and lied to the FBI in a scheme to pay $3.5 million in hush money to conceal sexual misconduct with an underage boy from his days as a high school wrestling coach, from 1965 to 1981. (2015) * Aaron Schock (R-IL) US Representative resigned from office after evidence surfaced that he used campaign funds for travel, redecorated his office with taxpayer funds to resemble the sets of the ''Downton Abbey'' TV series, and otherwise spent campaign and/or taxpayer money on other questionable personal uses. (2015) * Benjamin Cole (R) Senior Adviser to US Representative Aaron Schock US Representative, resigned after he allegedly condemned "hood rats" and "black miscreants" in internet posts. Schock's office stated, "I am extremely disappointed by the inexcusable and offensive online comments made by a member of my staff." * Matthew P. Pennell (R) Constituent Services Representative for US Representative Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) as well as GOP State Party Director was arrested on 17 counts of alleged child sex crimes. He was found guilty and sentenced to 12 months in prison. (2015) * Brett O'Donnell, Communications Director for US Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), pleaded guilty to lying to investigators from the House Office of Congressional Ethics about working for Rodgers while being paid with campaign money, thus becoming the first person ever to be convicted of lying to the House OCE. * Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) US Representative resigned his Congressional seat after four of his staff were convicted by the state of Michigan of falsifying signatures on McCotter's reelection petitions for the 2012 elections. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) blamed McCotter for running a slipshod, leaderless operation. "The congressman has resigned in disgrace", Schuette said, though McCotter was not charged. # Paul Seewald worked for McCotter as his district director of the Michigan's 11th congressional district. He pleaded guilty to nine counts of falsely signing a nominating petition as circulator. He was sentenced to two years' probation and 100 hours of community service, and ordered to pay court costs and fees. # Don Yowchuang worked for McCotter as Deputy District Director of the Michigan 11th Congressional District. He pleaded guilty to ten counts of forgery and six counts of falsely signing a nominating petition and was sentenced to three years of probation, 200 hours of community service, court costs and fees. # Mary M. Turnbull was McCotter's Representative to the Michigan 11th Congressional District. She was convicted of conspiring to commit a legal act in an illegal manner and falsely signing a nominating petition. She was sentenced to two years of probation, a day in jail, and 200 hours of community service. Turnbull was also ordered to pay a $1,440 fine. In addition, she is forbidden from any participation in elections or the political process. # Lorianne O'Brady worked as a scheduler for McCotter in the Michigan 11th Congressional District. She pleaded no contest to charges that she falsely claimed to have legally collected signatures to get McCotter on the ballot when she actually had not. She was sentenced to 20 days in jail and a work program plus $2,625 in fines and court costs. * David Rivera (R-FL) was indicted as a co-conspirator with Campaign Manager Ana Alliegro, who pleaded guilty to violation of US campaign laws in an $81,000 campaign-finance scheme to prop up a little-known Democratic candidate who used the illegal cash to trash Rivera's rival in the 2012 Democratic primary. Rivera was not convicted. # Ana Alliegro (R), the Campaign Manager for David Rivera (R-FL), pleaded guilty to violation of US campaign laws. She was given six months in jail and six months of house arrest plus two years of probation. (2014) * Rick Renzi (R-AZ) US Representative on June 12, 2013, was found guilty of 17 counts against him, which included wire fraud, conspiracy, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, and making false statements to insurance regulators. * Mike Crapo (R-ID) US Senator was arrested on December 23, 2012, and later pleaded guilty to drinking and driving in a Virginia court on January 4, 2012. The court fined him $250 and received a one-year suspension of his driver's license. He was also sentenced to 180 days in prison, but served no time. * Lisa Wilson-Foley (R) Candidate for U.S. Representative from the Connecticut 5th District, was accused of campaign irregularities and fraud, which included hiding illegal campaign contributions and covering up their origins. She was found guilty and sentenced to five months in prison with five months home confinement. (2012) # John G. Rowland (R) Campaign Consultant to Candidate for US Representative, Republican Lisa Wilson-Foley. Rowland was found guilty of conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions, making false statements and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison. (2012) * Trey Radel (R-FL) US Representative, was arrested on October 29, 2013, in Washington, D.C. for possession of cocaine after purchasing the drug from an undercover law enforcement officer. As a first-time offender, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in a Washington, D.C. court, and was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $250. Radel took a leave of absence from office to undergo substance abuse treatment following his conviction. Following treatment, he initially returned to office with the intent of finishing his term, but eventually resigned on January 27, 2014. * Annette Bosworth (R-SD) candidate for the US Senate was found guilty of 6 counts of filing false documents. She was sentenced to 3 years probation, community service plus costs. (2014)https://www.capjournal.com , July 21, 2017 , High court vacates Annette Bosworth's perjury convictions , Associated Press

/ref> * Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) US Representative pleaded guilty to one felony count of fraud for using $750,000 of campaign money to buy personal items such as stuffed animals, elk heads and fur capes. * Laura Richardson (D-CA) US Representative, was found guilty on seven counts of violating US House rules by improperly using her staff to campaign for her, destroying the evidence and tampering with witness testimony. The House Ethics Committee ordered Richardson to pay a fine of $10,000. (2012) * John Ensign (R-NV) US Senate, resigned his seat on May 3, 2011, just before the Senate Ethics Committee could examine possible fiscal violations in connection with his extramarital affair with Cynthia Hampton. (2011) (see List of federal political sex scandals in the United States, Federal sex scandals) # Doug Hampton (R) aide to Ensign in what became the John Ensign scandal reached a separate plea deal with prosecutors in May 2012, the details of which have not yet been released. * Michael Grimm (politician), Michael Grimm (R-NY) US Representative, pleaded guilty to tax fraud on December 23, 2014, and was sentenced to eight months in federal prison. * Ron Paul (R-TX) US House Representative, ran in the Republican primary for president in 2012, see Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign. The campaign was marked by a scandal in which several of his close staff were indicted and found guilty of not properly disclosing on campaign finance forms the hiring of Iowa Republican State Senator Kent Sorenson, who changed his endorsement from Republican Michele Bachmann to Paul. Paul denies any knowledge of the deal and was not charged. (2011) The aides were: # Jesse Benton (R) Campaign Chairman for Ron Paul (R-TX) concealed over $73,000 in payments to Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson to convince him to flip his presidential endorsement from Michele Bachmann to Ron Paul. He was convicted of conspiring to cause false records. He was sentenced to 6 months' home confinement, fined $10,000 and given two years' probation. (2016) # John Tate (R) Campaign Manager for US Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) was indicted for concealing over $73,000 in payments to Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson to convince him to flip his presidential endorsement from Michele Bachmann to Paul. He was convicted of conspiracy. He was sentenced to 6 months' home confinement, 2 years' probation and fined $10,000 in 2016. # Dimitri Kesari Deputy Campaign Manager for US Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) was convicted of causing false records concerning charges of hiring Iowa State Senator Sorensen, during the 2012 presidential campaign. He was sentenced to three months in jail. (2012) * Fred Pagan (R) Office Administrator to US Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. (2016) * Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) U.S. Representative, while running for re-election on an anti-abortion platform, it was discovered that he had made his wife have two abortions, and tried to persuade his mistress (who was also his patient), to have one as well. He also admitted under oath that while a married physician at Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, Tennessee, he had six affairs with three co-workers, two patients and a drug representative. He was investigated by the Tennessee Board of Health, pleaded guilty and was fined. (2012) * Robert Decheine (D) CoS to U.S. Representative Steve Rothman (D-NJ), was sentenced to 18 months in prison for soliciting sex from a minor. (2011) * Adam Kuhn (R) CoS to U.S. Representative Steve Stivers (R-OH), resigned abruptly after a former porn actress posted an explicit photo of his penis online. (2014) * David Wihby (R) top aide to US Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) resigned after he was arrested in a prostitution sting in Nashua. (2015) * Corrine Brown (D-FL) US Representative, was found guilty of fraud for using $800K from a fake charity for her own personal use. She was sentenced to 5 years. (2018) # Ronnie Simmons (D) CoS to U.S. Representative Corrine Brown (D-FL) pled guilty to fraud. (2017)


Judicial branch

* Mark E. Fuller (R) US Judge of the Middle District of Alabama, appointed by Republican George W. Bush was found guilty of domestic violence, sentenced to domestic training and forced to resign. (2015) * G. Thomas Porteous US Judge of Eastern Louisiana appointed by Democrat Bill Clinton, was unanimously impeached by the US House of Representatives on charges of bribery and perjury in March 2010. He was convicted by the US Senate and removed from office. (2010) * Samuel B. Kent (R) US Judge Federal District in Galveston, Texas was sentenced to 33 months in prison for lying about sexually harassing two female employees. He had been appointed to office by President George H. W. Bush in 1990. Resigned after being impeached on June 10, 2009. * Jack T. Camp (R) Senior Federal U.S. Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, who was appointed by Republican George W. Bush, was arrested while trying to purchase cocaine from an FBI agent. Pled guilty to three criminal charges and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 400 hours' community service and fined. * Richard F. Cebull (R) Federal Judge for the District of Montana, was found to have sent hundreds of racist and sexist emails. After an investigation led to calls for his impeachment, Cebull took senior status and then resigned. (2013)


Donald Trump (R) administration (2017–2021)


Executive branch

* Donald J. Trump (R) President, First Impeachment of Donald Trump. In 2019, Trump was accused of trading $400 million in congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine in exchange for damaging information on then Presidential Candidate Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Joseph Biden (D) and his son Hunter Biden in what came to be known as the Trump-Ukraine scandal. The US House of Representatives claimed this action both obstructed the Will of Congress, since the money had already been approved and earmarked, and had abused his office as president as well since the information would have benefited him personally. He was impeached for Obstruction of Congress by a House vote of 229–198, with a second vote of impeachment for Abuse of Power by a vote of 230–197. The charges were presented to the United States Senate for trial, where he was acquitted with a vote of 52–48 on a charge of Abuse of Power and 53–47 on the charge of Obstruction of Congress, both votes being almost exactly along party lines. * Donald J. Trump (R) President, Second Impeachment of Donald Trump. He was accused of Inciting to Insurrection at the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. On January 6, 2021, Trump and others spoke at a rally in Lafayette Square Park outside the capitol, where Trump claimed that the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 election in November had been 'stolen' from him and that he was still president and Joe Biden was not. He urged the crowd to "take back our country" and "fight like hell". The crowd then walked to the US Capitol building, where they assaulted police officers, broke windows, forced their way inside and vandalized the building. One policeman and four marchers died. One hundred and forty police officers were injured. The US House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for Vice President Mike Pence (R) and the cabinet to remove Trump under the
25th Amendment The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...
on January 12, which states that should the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet believe the sitting president is "unfit" to serve, he can be removed from office and the Vice president would assume leadership. Pence refused to do so. The next day the House impeached Trump on alleging Incitement of Insurrection under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment. The vote was 57–43 on party lines to find him guilty, but a 67-vote supermajority vote was required for conviction. * Scott Pruitt (R) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, resigned citing increasing numbers of investigations into his administration. The EPA's own Chief Ethics Official had been pushing for independent studies into Pruitt's actions and 13 other separate investigations were under way, including alleged corruption for personal gain, salary increases without White House approval, use of government staff on personal projects and unnecessary spending on offices and security. He resigned July 5, 2018 # Albert Kelly (R) EPA Superfund Task Force Director and top aide to EPA Chief Scott Pruitt (R), resigned amid scrutiny of his previous actions as leader of a bank in Oklahoma which led to $125,000 fine and lifetime ban from banking. (2018) # Pasquale "Nino" Perrotta, EPA Security Administrator, resigned after allegations of lavish spending and improper contracts (2018) # Samantha Dravis (R) EPA Associate Administrator and Senior Counsel in the Office of Policy resigned abruptly after allegations of being a no show employee. (2018) * George Papadopoulos (R) Foreign policy advisor, pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents relating to contacts he had with agents of the Russian government while working for the Trump campaign. He was sentenced to 14 days in prison, 12 months' probation, and 200 hours' community service. (2017) * Michael Flynn (D) National Security Advisor, was forced to resign on February 13, 2017, over conversations he had with Russian envoys about sanctions during the transition. On December 1, 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to charges of lying to the FBI as a plea bargain. (2017) * William C. Bradford (R) resigned from the United States Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy amid reports that he had made racial slurs directed at Barack Obama on Disqus and Twitter. Bradford had claimed that some of the comments were the result of identity theft and not his. (2017) * Tom Price (American politician), Tom Price (R) Health and Human Services Secretary, was forced to resign on September 29, 2017, after it was discovered that he spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on private flights. * Brenda Fitzgerald (R) Director of the Centers for Disease Control, was forced to resign on January 31, 2018, after it was discovered that she bought stock in tobacco, the leading cause of preventable death in the US, creating a conflict of interest. * Taylor Weyeneth (R) Deputy CoS at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, resigned when it was revealed the 24-year-old had no qualifications for the position and no related work history other than working on President Trump's campaign (2018). * David Sorensen (R) White House speechwriter, resigned after his ex-wife Jessica Corbett came forward with abuse allegations. (2018) *Elliott Broidy (R) Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee, was accused of not revealing he had received $9 million from the government of Malaysia to act as their agent to try and influence a US Department of Justice investigation of Malaysian fraud, plus the possibility of the enabling the extradition of a Chinese billionaire living in the United States. Broidy pled guilty to one count of conspiracy. As part of a plea deal, he forfeited most of the money to the US Government. He was then pardoned by President Donald Trump. (2018) * Vivieca Wright Simpson, Chief of Staff to Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin (I) resigned after an inspector general report charged that she altered an email to make it appear Shulkin was getting an award during a trip to Europe in order to gain approval to use taxpayer dollars to pay for Shulkin's wife to accompany him. Six weeks later, Trump fired Shulkin via Twitter. * Rob Porter (R) White House Staff Secretary, resigned from the position on February 7, 2018, following public allegations of spousal abuse from his two ex-wives. The allegations were supported by photographs of a black eye and a restraining order. * Tony Tooke, Chief of the US Forest Service, resigned after a series of sexual harassment and retaliation accusations. (2018) * Rick Gates (political consultant), Rick Gates (R) 2016 Deputy Campaign Chairman to President Donald Trump (R), pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to investigators concerning his work lobbying with Ukraine as well as tax and bank fraud. He was sentenced to 45 days in prison and three years' probation. (2018) * Michael Cohen (lawyer), Michael Cohen (R) Personal Attorney to President Donald Trump (R) and vice-president to the Trump organization, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and illegal campaign contributions. He also helped arrange non-disclosure agreements to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal who allegedly had affairs with Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts of tax evasion and making false statements. (2018) * Donald Kempf Jr. (R) Deputy Assistant Attorney General, an investigation concluded that he viewed sexually explicit images on government computers and then made false statements under oath about it. He resigned. (2018) * Paul Manafort (R) Campaign Manager for President Donald Trump (R), was charged with 18 counts of tax and bank fraud which involved keeping $65 million in foreign bank accounts and spending $15 million on himself. He was found guilty on 8 counts. March 18, 2019: Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison. On March 13, 2019, Manafort was sentenced to another 43 months for charges of federal conspiracy and obstruction. * Ryan Zinke (R) Secretary of the Interior, after the Interior Department inspector general referred one of several investigations about Zinke to the Justice Department. He was being investigated for his conduct in office and questionable real estate dealings in Montana when he resigned in December 2018. * Roger Stone (R) Trump Campaign Adviser, was indicted in January 2019, on "one count of obstructing an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering" during the Special Counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Trump election campaign. Stone was found guilty by the jury of nine women and three men, who deliberated for seven hours over two days before convicting Mr. Stone on all seven counts. * Alexander Acosta, Alex Acosta (R) Secretary of Labor resigned on July 12, 2019, "after defending himself in a contentious news conference over his role as a U.S. attorney", in 2008, in dismissing federal charges against Jeffrey Epstein, "that allowed the financier to plead guilty to lesser offenses in a sex-crimes case involving underage girls". Epstein Death of Jeffrey Epstein, committed suicide on August 10, 2019, out of view of any guards and cameras, in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City. After Price, Pruitt, Shulkin and Zinke, Acosta became the fifth Trump Cabinet member to resign or be fired amid a scandal. * William Perry Pendley (R) Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management was removed from office by Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court of Montana, who ruled that Pendley had been running the agency unlawfully for 424 days without US Senate approval, in violation of the Appointment Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA). David Bernhardt (R)
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...
, illegally promoted Pendley from deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management for Policy and Programs to "temporary" Director of the B. L. M. (2020) * Chad Wolf (R) Acting Secretary of Homeland Security was found unlawfully appointed by U.S. district judge Nicholas Garaufis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York as the DHS failed to follow the order of succession as it was lawfully designated. Thus, the decision to suspend DACA was voided. * B. J. Pak (R) U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia appointed by President Trump. On January 3, 2021, in a recorded call, Trump called top Georgia officials and pressured them to help him "find" more votes. During the call Trump referenced Georgia's Atlanta and Fulton counties and a "never-Trumper U.S. attorney there". Pak resigned the next day citing "unforeseen circumstances". (2021) *Steve Bannon (R) Chief White House Strategist and Counselor to President Donald Trump was subpoenaed to appear before the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack and answer questions. He refused to appear or cooperate. He was then cited for Contempt of Congress and was found guilty of refusing to appear, and of refusing to produce documents for examination. He was found guilty on both counts. (2022)


Legislative branch

* Katie Hill (politician), Katie Hill (D-CA) U.S. Representative, resigned following the start of a House Ethics Committee investigation involving Hill's alleged improper relationship with a male subordinate. After the investigation's announcement, Hill also admitted to an inappropriate relationship with a female campaign staffer. She resigned.(2019) * Oliver Schwab (R) CoS for Republican US Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ), wrongly spent or received over $200,000 in illegal campaign contributions. When an investigation was called, he resigned. (2018) * Duncan D. Hunter, Duncan Hunter (R-CA) U.S. Representative, and his wife were indicted in federal court on dozens of charges, including wire fraud and using campaign funds for personal use. (2018) He pleaded guilty on December 3, 2019. # Margaret Hunter (R) Campaign Manager and wife to US Representative Duncan D. Hunter (R) was indicted for misuse of $200,000 in campaign donations. She pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and was sentenced to 8 months of house arrest and three years of probation. * Tom Garrett (Virginia politician), Tom Garrett (R-VA) US Representative from Virginia's 5th District, was accused by four of his staff of using them for personal chores such as walking his dog and driving his kids. An investigation was begun, after which Garrett suddenly announced he was an alcoholic and would not seek re-election. (2018) * Chris Collins (New York politician), Chris Collins (R-NY) U.S. Representative, was arrested by the FBI and charged with Mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, Securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, seven counts of securities fraud, and Making false statements, lying to the FBI, for tipping off his son and his daughter-in-law's father with insider trading information. (2018) On October 1, 2019, he announced that he would resign his seat, just prior to an expected change of plea to guilty. He pled guilty to securities fraud and was sentenced to 26 months in prison. * Al Franken (D-MN) US Senator, resigned on January 2, 2018, after several accusations of sexual misconduct. * Clint Reed (R) CoS for US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was fired for allegations of "improper conduct" and threats to withhold employment benefits from an unnamed subordinate. (2018) * Former U.S. Representative Steve Stockman (R-TX) orchestrated a scheme to steal money from charitable foundations and the individuals who ran them. The funds were used to finance Stockman's campaigns and personal expenses. He was convicted on 23 felony counts of perjury, fraud and money laundering and sentenced to 10 years. (2018) # Jason T. Posey (R) Director of Special Projects and Campaign Treasurer for Stephen E. Stockman at the personal direction and supervision of Stockman, Posey took almost one million dollars from various sources and illegally funneled it into Stockman's 2014 Senate campaign. He pled guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conduit contributions. (2013) # Thomas Dodd (R) Special Assistant to Steve Stockman pled guilty to two conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. (2013) * Blake Farenthold (R-TX) US Representative, resigned in the wake of reports he used public funds to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit and had created an intensely hostile work environment for women in his congressional office. * Pat Meehan (R-PA) U.S. Representative, resigned following the revelation that he used taxpayers' money to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by a female staff member. * Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) US Representative, was charged with improper use of campaign contributions for his role in providing money to his Campaign Manager Rhonda Carmony's scheme to promote a decoy Democratic candidate in the state assembly election of Republican Stott Baugh. Rohrabacher was found guilty and fined $50,000. (2012) * Jack Wenpo Wu (R) Treasurer for the Re-election Campaign of Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) US Representative, embezzled over $300,000. He was repaying the money when he was found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison plus five years' probation. (2012) * Trent Franks (R-AZ) US Representative, from the 8th District abruptly resigned when confronted about asking some of his staff to be sexual surrogates. (2017). * Tim Murphy (American politician), Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA) US Representative, the married, anti-abortion congressman resigned just before an investigation could begin concerning his allegedly urging his mistress to seek an abortion. (2017) * Greg Gianforte (R-MT) US Representative, body slammed reporter Ben Jacobs (journalist), Ben Jacobs. Gianforte was then found guilty of assault and sentenced to 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger management, a 180-day deferred sentence, a $385 fine and court fee. As part of his settlement with Jacobs, Gianforte donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists. (2017) * John Conyers (D-MI) US Representative, resigned on December 5, 2017, after sources revealed he had paid a $27,000 settlement to one of his staffers who had accused him of sexual assault. Conyers resigned after congressional investigations were initiated against Conyers. * Fred W. Pagan (R) Staff to US Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine and GBL with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. (2016) * Steve Watkins (R-KS) US Representative, was charged in July 2020 by District Attorney Mike Kagay for three alleged felonies related to voter fraud: "interference with law enforcement by providing false information, voting without being qualified and unlawful advance voting". The charges came after Watkins' father had confirmed in March that the Federal Elections Commission was investigating a separate scandal involving Watkins; according to ''The Kansas City Star'', the FEC was "looking into thousands of dollars he steered into his son's campaign through other donors, including his daughters and a homebuilder". * Joe Barton (R-TX) US Representative from the 6th District and member of the conservative Freedom Caucus was found to have sent videos to several women on the internet of himself masturbating, two years before divorcing his second wife. Barton apologized and vowed to remain in congress and even fight the charges. A week later, Tea Party organizer Kelly Canon corroborated the stories by revealing that Barton had once asked if she was wearing panties and made other sexual references while he was still married. Barton finally announced he would not seek re-election. (2017) * David Schweikert (R-AZ) US Representative, after a two-year probe by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee Schweikert was unanimously found guilty of campaign finance violations including urging federal staff members to fundraise for his campaign, misusing his Allowance for unofficial purposes, and demonstrating a "lack of candor and due diligence" as well as giving "untruthful testimony". He was fined $50,000. (2020) * McCrae Dowless (R) Campaign Consultant for US Republican candidate Mark Harris (North Carolina politician) in NC's 9th US Congressional District, which was marred due to suspected absentee ballot voter fraud. Dowless was arrested and charged with multiple counts of illegal ballot handling and conspiracy in both the 2016 and 2018 elections. He was eventually convicted of defrauding the government and sentenced to 6 months in prison and fined. (2018)


Judicial branch

* Alex Kozinski (R) US Judge in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals appointed by Republican
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, retired following allegations of sexual misconduct from several women, including former clerks. (2018) * Patricia Head Minaldi (R) Senior Judge of the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana appointed by President George W. Bush. After DUI arrest and several incidents in her courtroom, Minaldi took medical leave for severe alcoholism and then resigned. (2017)


Joe Biden (D) administration (2021– )


Executive Branch

*Jeffrey Siegmeister (R) United States Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida, was accused of conspiracy, extortion and bribery. He pled guilty to four counts. (2019) *Eric Lander (D) Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy a cabinet level position. Lander was accused by several of his staff of bullying, demeaning, insulting and embarrassing them. The allegations were investigated and Lander was reprimanded. On February 7, 2022, he submitted his resignation. *TJ Ducklo, Tyler Joseph "TJ" Ducklo (D) Deputy Press Secretary. Vanity Fair (magazine), ''Vanity Fair'' reported that Ducklo threatened ''Politico'' reporter Tara Palmeri, telling her that he would "destroy her" if she published a story about his relationship with ''Axios (website), Axios'' reporter Alexi McCammond. On February 12, 2021, Ducklo was suspended without pay for one week, he then apologized, and resigned the next day.


Legislative Branch

*Paul Gosar (R-AZ) US Representative was Censure in the United States#House censures, censured by the US House of Representatives for inciting violence after he posted an anime clip depicting him killing fellow Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) face and attacking Biden. (2021) *Van Taylor (R-TX) US Representative and married with three children, was accused of having a nine-month affair with Tania Joya who was once married to a Commander for the Islamic State and has been referred to as the “Isis Bride.” Taylor allegedly paid Joya $5,000 to keep quiet. The news was leaked during the Republican primary for his seat, causing Taylor to admit to the affair and withdraw from the campaign.(2022) *Tom Reed (politician), Tom Reed (R-NY) US Representative, was accused of sexual harassment on March 19, 2021, by a lobbyist for an incident at a bar. In a statement made on March 21, 2021, he apologized to her and said he would not seek re-election in 2022. On May 10, 2022, he announced his resignation on the United States House of Representatives, House floor effective immediately. *Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) US Representative from Lincoln in the 1st District, was indicted for making false and misleading statements to the FBI about the source of $189,000 in campaign contributions from a Nigerian billionaire. When found guilty he resigned. He was then sentenced to two years probation, fined $25,000 and given community service. (2021)


See also

* List of federal political sex scandals in the United States * 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals * List of American state and local politicians convicted of crimes * List of United States senators expelled or censured * List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes * List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded * List of United States unincorporated territory officials convicted of federal corruption offenses * Darleen Druyun#U.S. Air Force tanker contract controversy, Boeing Scandal


References


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Political Scandals Of The United States Political scandals in the United States, Lists of political scandals by country, United States American politicians convicted of federal public corruption crimes