from this trip down History lane, Breaking the Law and being a Politician go hand in handA few of those people were scapegoated like Scooter Libby. He was not convicted of the crime investigated, he was convicted of not remembering a 10 minute conversation two years earlier (obstruction of justice).
2009 (Barack Obama (D) presidency)
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
- Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) was arrested on December 23, 2012 and later pleaded guilty to drinking and driving in a Virginia court. The court fined him 250 dollars. He was sentenced to 180 days in prison, but served no time. (2013)[1][2][3]
- Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) pleaded guilty on February 20, 2013 to one count of wire and mail fraud in connection with his misuse of $750,000 of campaign funds. Jackson was sentenced to two and half years imprisonment. (2013)[4]
- Rick Renzi (R-AZ) on June 12, 2013 was found guilty of 17 of the 32 counts against him, including wire fraud, conspiracy, extortion, racketeering, money laundering and making false statements to insurance regulators. (2013)[5]
- Trey Radel (R-FL) was convicted of misdemeanor possession of cocaine in November, 2013. As a first time offender, he was sentenced to one year probation and fined $250. Radel announced he would take a leave of absence, but did not resign. Later, under pressure from a number of Republican leaders, he announced through a spokesperson that he would do so. (2013)[6][7][8][9]
20012009 (George W. Bush (R) presidency)
- Samuel B. Kent (R) The Federal District Judge of Galveston, Texas was sentenced on May 11, 2009, to 33 months in prison for having lied about sexually harassing two female employees. He had been appointed to office by George H. W. Bush in 1990. (2009) [10][11]
- Thomas Porteous (D) The Federal Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana was impeached, convicted and removed from office on December 8, 2010 on charges of bribery and lying to Congress. He had been appointed to office by Bill Clinton in 1994. (2010)[12]
Executive branch
Legislative branch
- Lewis Libby (R) Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney (R). 'Scooter' was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame Affair on March 6, 2007 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000. His sentence was commuted by George W. Bush (R) on July 1, 2007. (2007)[13]
- William J. Jefferson (D-LA) in August 2005 the FBI seized $90,000 in cash from Jefferson's home freezer. He was re-elected anyway, but lost in 2008. He was convicted of 11 counts of bribery and sentenced to 13 years in prison on November 13, 2009. (2009)[14] Jefferson's Chief of Staff Brett Pfeffer, was sentenced to 84 months for bribery. (2006) [15]
- Vito Fossella (R-NY) US Congressman convicted of drunken driving in 2008, appealed the charge, but then pled guilty in 2009.[16]
- Jack Abramoff CNMI scandal involves the efforts of Abramoff to influence Congressional action concerning U.S. immigration and minimum wage laws. See Executive branch convictions. Congressmen convicted in the Abramoff scandal include:
- Bob Ney (R-OH) 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. (2007)[17]
- Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) Married Senator and vocal critic of Clinton's affair, pled guilty to disorderly conduct in a Minneapolis airport men's room, after having been arrested on a charge of homosexual lewd conduct.(2007) [18]
- Duke Cunningham (R-CA) pleaded guilty on November 28, 2005 to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in what came to be called the Cunningham scandal. Sentenced to over eight years in prison. (2005)[19]
- Frank Ballance (D-NC) admitted to federal charges of money laundering and mail fraud in October 2005 and was sentenced to 4 years in prison. (2005)[20]
- Bill Janklow (R-SD) convicted of second-degree manslaughter for running a stop sign and killing a motorcyclist. Resigned from the House and given 100 days in the county jail and three years probation. (2003)[21]
- Jim Traficant (D-OH) found guilty on 10 felony counts of financial corruption was sentenced to 8 years in prison and expelled from the US House of Representatives. (2002) [22]
Judicial branch
19932001 (Clinton (D) presidency)
Executive branch
Legislative branch
- Wade Sanders (D), Deputy Assistant United States Secretary of the Navy, for Reserve Affairs, was sentenced to 37 months in prison on one charge of possession of child pornography. (2009)[23][24][25]
- Mel Reynolds (D-IL) was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. (1997) Was later convicted of 12 counts of bank fraud. (1999) [26]
- Walter R. Tucker III (D-CA) was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 1996 for extortion and tax evasion. (1995)
- Wes Cooley (R-OR), Cooley 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 (1997)[27]
- Austin Murphy (D-PA) convicted of one count of voter fraud for filling out absentee ballots for members of a nursing home. (1999) [28]
- House banking scandal [29] The House of Representatives Bank found that 450 members had overdrawn their checking accounts, but 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)
- Buz Lukens (R-Ohio) convicted of bribery and conspiracy.[30]
- Carl C. Perkins (D-Kentucky) pleaded guilty to a check kiting scheme involving several financial institutions (including the House Bank).[31]
- Carroll Hubbard (D-Kentucky) convicted of illegally funneling money to his wife's 1992 campaign to succeed him in congress.[32]
- Mary Rose Oakar (D-Ohio) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor campaign finance charge not related to the House Bank.[33]
- Walter Fauntroy (D-District of Columbia) convicted of filing false disclosure forms in order to hide unauthorized income.[34]
- Congressional Post Office scandal (19911995) A conspiracy to embezzle House Post Office money through stamps and postal vouchers to congressmen.[35]
- Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) Rostenkowski was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison, in 1995.[36]
- Joe Kolter (D-Pennsylvania) Convicted of one count of conspiracy [37] and sentenced to 6 months in prison.[38]
19891993 (George H. W. Bush (R) presidency)
- Jay Kim (R-CA) accepted $250,000 in illegal 1992 campaign contributions and was sentenced to two months house arrest (1992) [39]
Executive branch
Legislative branch
- Catalina Vasquez Villalpando, (R) Treasurer of the United States. Pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and tax evasion. (1992)[40]
Judicial Branch
- Nicholas Mavroules (D-Massachusetts) convicted of extortion, accepting illegal gifts and failing to report them on congressional disclosure and income tax forms. Mavroules pleaded guilty to fifteen counts in April 1993 and was sentenced to a fifteen-month prison term. (1993) [41][42][43]
- Albert Bustamante (D-Texas) convicted of accepting bribes. (1993) [44]
- David Durenberger Senator (R-Minnesota) denounced by Senate for unethical financial transactions and then disbarred (1990). He pleaded guilty to misuse of public funds and given one year probation (1995) [45]
19811989 (Reagan (R) presidency)
- Robert Frederick Collins (D) Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Convicted of Bribery and sentence to 6 years and 10 months.[46]
- Walter Nixon (D) US Judge (Mississippi) (appointed by Lyndon Johnson in 1968) Was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate for perjury on November 3, (1989) [47]
Executive branch
See also: Reagan administration scandals
- Housing and Urban Development Scandal A controversy concerning bribery by selected contractors for low income housing projects.[48]
- James G. Watt (R) United States Secretary of the Interior, 19811983, charged with 25 counts of perjury and obstruction of justice. Sentenced to five years probation, fined $5,000 and 500 hours of community service[49]
- Deborah Gore Dean, (R) Executive Assistant to (Samuel Pierce, Secretary of HUD 19811987, and not charged). Dean was convicted of 12 counts of perjury, conspiracy, bribery. Sentenced to 21 months in prison (1987).[50]
- Phillip D. Winn (R) Assistant Secretary of HUD, 19811982, pleaded guilty to bribery in 1994.[50]
- Thomas Demery, (R) Assistant Secretary of HUD, pleaded guilty to bribery and obstruction.[50]
- Joseph A. Strauss, (R) Special Assistant to the Secretary of HUD, convicted for accepting payments to favor Puerto Rican land developers in receiving HUD funding.[51]
- Wedtech scandal Wedtech Corporation convicted of bribery for Defense Department contracts.[52]
- Mario Biaggi (D-New York) sentenced to 2½ years. (1987)[53]
- Robert Garcia (D-New York) sentenced to 2½ years.[54]
- Iran-Contra Affair (19851986); A secret sale of arms to Iran, to secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras, in violation of the Boland Amendment.[55]
- Caspar Weinberger (R) United States Secretary of Defense, was indicted on two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice on June 16, 1992. [14]. Weinberger received a pardon before his trial from George H. W. Bush on December 24, 1992.[56]
- Robert C. McFarlane (R) National Security Adviser, convicted of withholding evidence. Given 2 years probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush[57]
- John Poindexter (R) National Security Advisor, was convicted on April 7, 1990 for his role in the Iran-Contra Affair. The convictions were reversed in 1991 on appeal .[58]
- Oliver North (R) Member of the National Security Council, was fired by President Reagan on the same day Poindexter resigned.[59][60] North was found guilty of perjury and conspiracy, but the charges were overturned on appeal.
- Elliott Abrams (R) Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, convicted of withholding evidence. Given 2 years probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush.[61] http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm.
#Rita Lavelle (R), assistant EPA Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency misused superfund' monies and was convicted of perjury. She served six months in prison, was fined $10,000 and given five years probation. (1984) [63] Legislative branch
- Michael Deaver (R) White House Deputy Chief of Staff to Ronald Reagan 198185, pleaded guilty to perjury related to lobbying activities and was sentenced to 3 years probation and fined $100,000 [62]
- Sewergate A scandal in which funds from the EPA were selectively used for projects which would aid politicians friendly to the Reagan administration.
- Donald E. "Buz" Lukens (R-Ohio), Convicted of two counts of bribery and conspiracy. (1996) [64] See also Sex scandals.
- Abscam FBI sting involving fake 'Arabs' trying to bribe 31 congressmen.(1980) [65] The following Congressmen were convicted:
- Harrison A. Williams Senator (D-New Jersey) Convicted on 9 counts of bribery and conspiracy. Sentenced to 3 years in prison.[66]
- John Jenrette Representative (D-South Carolina) sentenced to two years in prison for bribery and conspiracy.[67]
- Richard Kelly (R-Florida) Accepted $25K and then claimed he was conducting his own investigation into corruption. Served 13 months.[68]
- Raymond Lederer (D-Pennsylvania) "I can give you me" he said after accepting $50K. Sentenced to 3 years.[69]
- Michael Myers (D-Pennsylvania) Accepted $50K saying, "...money talks and bullshit walks." Sentenced to 3 years and was expelled from the House.[70]
- Frank Thompson (D-New Jersey) Sentenced to 3 years.[71]
- John M. Murphy (D-New York) Served 20 months of a 3-year sentence.[72]
Judicial branch scandals
- Mario Biaggi (D-New York), Convicted of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gratuities he was sentenced to 2½ years in prison and fined $500K for his role in the Wedtech scandal, see above. Just before expulsion from the House, he resigned. The next year he was convicted of another 15 counts of obstruction and bribery. (1988) [73]
- Pat Swindall (R-Georgia) convicted of 6 counts of perjury. (1989) [74][75]
- George V. Hansen (R-Idaho) censured for failing to file out disclosure forms. Spent 15 months in prison.[76]
- Frederick W. Richmond (D-New York),Convicted of tax evasion and possession of marijuana. Served 9 months (1982) [77]
- Dan Flood (D-Pennsylvania) censured for bribery. After a trial ended in a deadlocked jury, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year's probation.[78][79]
- Joshua Eilberg (D-Pennsylvania) pleaded guilty to conflict-of-interest charges. In addition, he convinced president Carter to fire the U.S. Attorney investigating his case.[80]
19771981 (Carter (D) presidency)
- Alcee Hastings (D-Florida), Federal District court judge impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of soliciting a bribe (1989).[81] Subsequently elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1992)
- Harry Claiborne (D-Nebraska), Federal District court Judge impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate on two counts of tax evasion. He served over one year in prison.[82]
Legislative branch
19741977 (Ford (R) presidency)
- Fred Richmond (D-New York) Convicted of tax fraud and possession of marijuana. Served 9 months in prsion. Charges of soliciting sex from a 16-year-old boy were dropped after he submitted to counseling. (1978) [83]
- Charles Diggs (D-Michigan), 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) [84]
- Michael Myers (D-Pennsylvania) 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.[85]
- Frank M. Clark (D-Pennsylvania) pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion on June 12, 1979 and sentenced to two years in prison.[86]
- Koreagate scandal involving alleged bribery of more than 30 members of Congress by the South Korean government represented by Tongsun Park.[87]
- Richard Tonry (D-Louisiana) pleaded guilty to receiving illegal campaign contributions.[88]
Legislative branch
19691974 (Nixon (R) presidency)
- James F. Hastings (R-New York), convicted of kickbacks and mail fraud, he also took money from his employees for personal use. Served 14 months at Allenwood penitentiary. (1976) [89]
- John V. Dowdy (D-Texas), Allegedly tried to stop a federal invesitgation of a construction firm. He served 6 months in prison for perjury. (1973) [90][91]
- Bertram Podell (D-New York), pleaded guilty to conspiracy and conflict of interest. He was fined $5,000 and served four months in prison. (1974)[92]
- Frank Brasco (D-New York) 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.[80]
- Richard T. Hanna (D-CA), convicted in an influence-buying scandal. (1974)[93]
Executive branch
- Watergate (19721973) Republican 'bugging' of the Democratic Party National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel led to a burglary which was discovered. The cover up of the affair by President Richard Nixon (R) and his staff resulted in 69 government officials being charged and 48 pleading guilty, including 7 for actual burglary. Eventually, Nixon resigned his position.[94]
Legislative branch
- John N. Mitchell (R) former Attorney General, convicted of perjury.[95]
- Frederick C. LaRue (R) Advisor to John Mitchell, convicted of obstruction of justice.[96]
- Richard Kleindienst (R) Attorney General, found guilty of "refusing to answer questions" given one month in jail.[97]
- H. R. Haldeman (R) Chief of Staff for Nixon, convicted of perjury [98]
- John Ehrlichman (R) Counsel to Nixon, convicted of perjury.[99]
- Egil Krogh (R) Aide to John Ehrlichman, sentenced to 6 months.[96]
- John W. Dean III (R) Counsel to Nixon, convicted of obstruction of justice.[96]
- Dwight L. Chapin (R) Deputy Assistant to Nixon, convicted of perjury.[96]
- Charles W. Colson (R) Special Consul to Nixon, convicted of obstruction of justice.[97]
19631969 (Lyndon B. Johnson (D) presidency)
- Cornelius Gallagher (D-New Jersey) pleaded guilty to tax evasion, and served two years in prison.[100]
- J. Irving Whalley (R-Pennsylvania) 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.[80]
- Martin B. McKneally (R-New York) Placed on one-year probation and fined $5,000 in 1971 for failing to file income tax return. He had not paid taxes for many years prior.[101]
- New York US Representative James Fred Hastings (R-NY) was a delegate to the 1968 Republican National Convention and the 1972 Republican National Convention. 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).[89]
Legislative branch
19611963 (Kennedy (D) presidency)
- Ted Kennedy Senator (D-Massachusetts) drove his car into the channel between Chappaquiddick Island and Martha's Vineyard, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a suspended sentence of two months [102] (1969)
- Daniel Brewster (D-Maryland) Senator pleaded no contest to accepting " an unlawful gratuity without corrupt intent ".[103]
- Frank W. Boykin Congressman (D-AL) was convicted of conspiracy and conflict of interest in July 1963.[104]
Legislative branch
19531961 (Eisenhower (R) presidency)
- Thomas F. Johnson (D-Maryland) was convicted of conspiracy and conflict of interest regarding the receipt of illegal gratuities.[105]
- Frank Boykin (D-Alabama) Was placed on probation and fined $40,000 following conviction in a case involving a conflict of interest and conspiracy to defraud the government. He was pardoned by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965.[106]
Legislative branch
19451953 (Truman (D) presidency)
- Thomas J. Lane (D-Massachusetts) convicted for evading taxes on his congressional income. Served 4 months in prison, but was re-elected three more times.[107] before his 1962 defeat due to re-districting. (1956) [108]
- Ernest K. Bramblett (R-California) 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.[109]
Legislative branch
19331945 (Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) presidency)
- Walter E. Brehm (R-Ohio) convicted of accepting contributions illegally from one of his employees. Received a 15 month suspended sentence and a $5,000 fine.[110]
- J. Parnell Thomas (R-New Jersey): a member of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), was convicted of salary fraud and given an 18-month sentence and a fine, resigning from Congress in 1950. He was imprisoned in Danbury Prison with two of the Hollywood Ten he had helped put there. After serving his 18 months he was pardoned by Truman (D) in 1952,[111]
- Andrew J. May (D-Kentucky) Convicted of accepting bribes in 1947 from a war munitions manufacturer. Was sentenced to 9 months in prison, after which he was pardoned by Truman (D) in 1952.[112]
- James M. Curley (D-Massachusetts) fined $1,000 and served six-months for fraud before Harry S. Truman commuted the rest of his sentence.[113]
Legislative branch
1929-1933 (Herbert Hoover (R) presidency)
- John H. Hoeppel (D-CA) convicted in 1936 of selling an appointment to the West Point Military Academy. He was fined $1,000 and sentenced to 412 months in jail.[114]
Legislative Branch
19231929 Calvin Coolidge (R) Administration
- Harry E. Rowbottom, (R-IN) was convicted in Federal court of accepting bribes from persons who sought post office appointments. He served one year in Leavenworth.(1931)[115]
19211923 Warren G. Harding (R) presidency
- George English (D) U.S. District Judge of Illinois, impeached for taking an interest-free loan from a bank of which he was director. Resigned before his Senate trial. (1926)[116]
- John W. Langley (R-KY) Resigned from the US Congress in January 1926, after losing an appeal to set aside his conviction of violating the Volstead Act (Prohibition). Hed 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.[117][118]
Executive branch
The Harding administration was marred by scandals stemming from his appointment of men in his administration whom he had known in Ohio. They came to be known as the Ohio Gang. They include;
1901-1909 (Theodore Roosevelt (R) presidency)
- Albert Fall (R) Secretary of the Interior who was bribed by Harry F. Sinclair for control of the Teapot Dome federal oil reserves in Wyoming. He was the first U.S. cabinet member to ever be convicted; he served two years in prison. (1922) [119]
- Charles R. Forbes (R) 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.[120]
- Thomas W. Miller (R), Head of the Office of Alien Property: convicted of fraud by selling valuable German patents seized after World War I for far below market price as well as bribery. Served 18 months.[121]
Legislative Branch
- Henry B. Cassel (R-Pennsylvania) was convicted of fraud related to the construction of the Pennsylvania State Capitol (1909).[122][123]
- John Hipple Mitchell Senator (R-Oregon) was involved with the Oregon land fraud scandal, for which he was indicted and convicted while a sitting U.S. Senator. (1905) [124]
18691877 (Grant (R) presidency)
- Joseph R. Burton Senator (R-Kansas) was convicted of accepting a $2500 bribe in 1904.[125]
Executive branch
- Whiskey Ring: Massive corruption of Ulysses S. Grant's (R) administration involving whiskey taxes, bribery and kickbacks ending with 110 convictions. (1875) [126]
17771868
- John J. McDonald (R) Supervisor of the Internal Revenue Service. Convicted and sentenced to three years.[126][127]
- Matthew Lyon (Democratic Republican-Kentucky). First Congressman to be recommended for censure after spitting on Roger Griswold (Federalist-Connecticut). The censure failed to pass.[128] Also found guilty of violating John Adams' Alien and Sedition Acts and sentenced to four months in jail, during which he was re-elected (1798) [129]
Originally Posted by RALPHEY BOY
- John Pickering, Federal Judge appointed by George Washington was impeached and convicted in absentia by the U.S. Senate for drunkenness and use of profanity on the bench in spite of the fact neither act was a high crime or misdemeanor. (1804)[130]
The crux of the matter is did any of these people use their position to escape punishment? If a congressman embezzles and goes to prison then great. But if he claims that he has a responsibility to the public and weasels his (or her) way out of trouble....
Your list does miss a few people like Charlie Rangle (tax evasion and fraud),
