Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace
Very incomplete!
Originally this section was a single page titled "Politicians who
Died in Disgrace", but it became difficult to define that. Did
Richard Nixon die in disgrace, when the President and other leaders
praised him at his funeral? So I broadened the scope to "trouble and
disgrace," and to include still-living figures.
In general, to qualify for listing here, mere rumor of scandal is
not enough. What's required is some kind of formal action, such as
censure, disbarment, impeachment, recall or expulsion from office,
including resignation under fire; or some kind of brush with the
criminal justice system, including arrest, indictment, conviction, or
imprisonment. In a few cases uncontested evidence of wrongdoing
emerged after death.
Note that not all of these people deserved the trouble they
were in; sometimes charges were brought for purely political reasons,
or they were prosecuted for simply acting on their principles.
Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence, ended up in
debtor's prison because he went broke financing the American
Revolution, for example, and George Crockett was jailed for doing
what most lawyers would consider his ordinary job defending an
unpopular client. Some were found not guilty or otherwise exonerated.
Many other cases are not so clear; I just list them here and let
history decide.
For your convenience, the list is provided alphabatically,
chronologically, in offense categories, and state-by-state. Note that
the same individual may appear in more than one offense category,
state, or decade.
By Category of Offense:
Bribery:
offering or accepting gratuities to influence policy (136)
Civil
War: slavery, disloyalty to North or South, and Reconstruction
(52)
Sedition:
treason, disloyalty, rebellion (except Civil War) (47)
Sex:
sex and marriage crimes and scandals (45)
Murder
and mayhem: also attempted murder, manslaughter (39)
Misfeasance:
malfeasance, misconduct, neglect of duty or responsibility (36)
Tax
evasion: failing to pay what is owed to the government (35)
Embezzlement:
misappropriating entrusted funds (32)
Fraud:
cheating through deception (27)
Perjury:
and subornation of perjury (26)
Protests
and demonstrations: anti-war, civil rights, picketing, strikes,
draft resistance (26)
Flight/escape:
escape from incarceration or flight to avoid prosecution (25)
Automobiles:
traffic and driving offenses (25)
Intoxication:
drunkenness and drug-induced bad behavior (23)
Obstruction
of justice: interfering in the judicial process (22)
Campaign
finance: falsifying, concealing, or misappropriating campaign
money (17)
Contempt:
contempt of court or of Congress; probation and parole violations
(16)
Protecting
vice: tolerating or profiting from gambling or prostitution
(15)
Extortion:
threats or blackmail to obtain money (15)
Bank
fraud: unjustly obtaining money from or through a bank (13)
Hatred:
trouble caused by racial, ethnic, or religious bigotry (10)
Alcohol:
alcohol offenses except intoxication (9)
Vote
fraud: and other election offenses (9)
Obscenity:
profane language, indecent publications (9)
Military:
offenses specific to military service (9)
Conflict
of interest: decisonmaking clouded by undisclosed stakeholding
(9)
Forgery:
and counterfeiting (9)
Theft:
stealing the property of another (9)
Disclosure
requirements: legally required revelation of financial data
(8)
Assault and
battery: usually involving fists (7)
Diplomatic
offenses: persona non grata; violation of neutrality (6)
Kickbacks:
payment back of a portion of price or wages to the decionmaker
(6)
Abuse
of authority: improper use of power (6)
Revealing
secrets: breaches of confidentiality (6)
Organized
crime: involvement with gangsters or the Mafia (6)
Illegal
drugs: possession or trafficking in illegal substances (5)
Government
for sale: selling public services, decisions, licenses, or assets
(5)
Libel
or slander: as criminal offense or scandal (4)
Nepotism:
hiring or appointing relatives (4)
Attire:
offenses and scandals involving clothing (3)
Money
laundering: illegal manipulation to turn dirty money "clean"
(3)
Debt:
imprisoned for debt (3)
Burglary:
breaking in to steal things (3)
Environmental:
polluting or despoiling contrary to law (2)
Arson:
setting fires (2)
Weapons:
offenses involving firearms regulations (2)
Lobbyists:
offenses involving lobbyists (1)
Gambling:
illegal gaming for money (1)
Usury:
charging illegally high interest rates on loans (1)
All
other crimes: not elsewhere classified (90)
Chronological by Decade:
1799
and earlier (17)
1800
to 1849 (36)
1850
to 1859 (11)
1860
to 1869 (67)
1870
to 1879 (17)
1880
to 1889 (10)
1890
to 1899 (15)
1900
to 1909 (30)
1910
to 1919 (31)
1920
to 1929 (42)
1930
to 1939 (41)
1940
to 1949 (66)
1950
to 1959 (24)
1960
to 1969 (27)
1970
to 1979 (64)
1980
to 1989 (74)
1990
to 1999 (62)
2000
and later (67)
By State or Outlying Area:
National
(252)
Alabama
(9)
Alaska
(2)
Arizona
(5)
Arkansas
(17)
California
(43)
Colorado
(3)
Connecticut
(8)
Florida
(17)
Georgia
(9)
Hawaii
(2)
Idaho
(5)
Illinois
(25)
Indiana
(8)
Iowa
(5)
Kansas
(7)
Kentucky
(23)
Louisiana
(12)
Maine
(1)
Maryland
(16)
Massachusetts
(9)
Michigan
(74)
Minnesota
(11)
Mississippi
(11)
Missouri
(6)
Montana
(1)
Nebraska
(3)
New
Hampshire (7)
New
Jersey (34)
New
Mexico (1)
New
York (103)
North
Carolina (10)
North
Dakota (1)
Ohio
(25)
Oklahoma
(6)
Oregon
(5)
Pennsylvania
(24)
Rhode
Island (2)
South
Carolina (10)
South
Dakota (5)
Tennessee
(11)
Texas
(22)
Utah
(9)
Vermont
(1)
Virginia
(16)
Washington
(8)
West
Virginia (4)
Wisconsin
(2)
American
Samoa (3)
District
of Columbia (12)
Guam
(2)
Virgin
Islands (2)
Outside
U.S. (23)
Alphabetical order:
A (31)
B (76)
C (48)
D (42)
E (9)
F (19)
G (27)
H (55)
I (4)
J (21)
K (19)
L (26)
M (55)
N (11)
O (10)
P (30)
R (25)
S (63)
T (27)
U (2)
V (4)
W (39)
Y (3)
Z (2)
"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political
graveyard."
Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February
3, 1872 |
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