5/30: corruption
Post on 23-Feb-2016
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5/30: Corruption In your opinion, how
can confidence in government be increased? What can the government do to make itself more transparent and open to the American people? Can illegal activity in government ever fully be prevented?
Warren G. Harding was elected president in 1920
Rather than struggle to master the complexities of the job, Harding trusted others to make decisions
Many were his close friends, men he enjoyed relaxing and gambling with at late-night poker games
Known as the Ohio Gang, they were not hones public servants
They were mostly greedy, small-minded men who saw government service as a chance to get rich at the expense of the very citizens they were supposed to serve
Charles Forbes, head of the Veterans’ Bureau, wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars
For example, his department bought $70,000 dollars worth of floor cleaner – enough to last 100 years – at more than 24 times the fair price
Another Harding pal, Attorney General Harry Daugherty, used his position to accept money from criminals
The Teapot Dome Scandal Explodes In 1921, Secretary of the
Interior Albert Fall arranged to transfer oil reserves in Elk Hills, California, and Teapot Dome, Wyoming, from the Navy Department to the Interior Department
The oil reserves were intended for the navy’s use in time of emergency
Harding signed the transfer
Once Fall had control of the oil, he forgot about the needs of the navy
He leased the properties to private oilmen in return for “loans” – which were actually bribes
Rumors of the deal led to a Senate investigation, and, by 1924, the entire situation was revealed by the public
Later, the oil reserves were returned to the government
Fall was sentenced to a year in prison
Although Harding was never prosecuted for the scandal, it is thought that he had some knowledge of what was going on
He later died of a heart attack in 1923, while still in the presidency
Flash Forward… 1972: President
Nixon is re-elected president, amidst great fanfare
Little did he know that his downfall was already in motion…
June 1972 Five men linked to
President Nixon’s reelection campaign are arrested for trying to bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.
April 1973 Nixon denies knowledge of the
Watergate break-in or any coverup
May 1973 Archibald Cox is
named as the Justice Department’s special prosecutor for Watergate
The Senate Watergate Committee begins nationally televised hearings
June 1973 Former White House counsel John Dean
tells investigators that Nixon authorized a coverup
July 1973 Nixon, claiming
executive privilege, refuses to release the tapes of secretly recorded Oval Office conversations
October 1973 Nixon offers investigators summaries of
tapes, which Special Prosecutor Cox refuses
Nixon fires Cox This triggers other firings and
resignations in what becomes known as the Saturday Night Massacre
March 1974 Former Nixon administration officials are
indicted on charges of conspiracy in the Watergate break-in
Richard Nixon is named as an “unindicted co-conspirator”
July 1974 The Supreme Court
rules unanimously that Nixon must surrender all of the White House recordings requested by the new special prosecutor
The House Judiciary Committee recommends impeachment
August 1974 Transcripts of
tapes show that Nixon ordered a coverup of the Watergate break-in
On August 9, Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to resign
While Watergate damaged the public’s trust of government officials, the U.S. government’s system of checks and balances withstood the crisis
Lawmakers passed laws to prevent similar abuses
The role of the press in bringing the scandal to light reminded the public of the importance of a free press in a democratic society
Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments (1974) Set limit on campaign
contributions, provided partial federal funding for presidential campaigns, created the Federal Election Commission to enforce these laws
Freedom of Information Act Amendments (1974) Penalized government officials who
withheld documents illegally
Government in the Sunshine Act (1976) Opened meetings
of many government agencies to the public
By 1977, all states had passed sunshine laws
Ethics of Government Act in 1978 Required financial disclosure forms
from public officials, restricted government officials’ ability to lobby, created the office of special prosecutor
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