The Political 
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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
    The Political
Graveyard

    The Political Graveyard is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. It is the Internet's most comprehensive source for American political biography, listing 180,022 politicians, living and dead.

    The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. Web hosting is provided by Paul Haas, of Ypsilanti, Michigan. The site opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done on June 16, 2008.