Watergate scandal

Watergate scandal is a series of political scandals that happen during the presidency of Richard Nixon that began when five men was arrested after breaking and entering into the Democratic National ommittee headquarters at the Watergate hotel complex in Washington, D.C. On June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, a security guard at the Watergate Complex, noticed tape covering the locks on several doors in the complex. He called the police and within minutes, five men were arrested inside the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) office. The Five men were Virgilio González, Bernard Barker, James W. McCord, Jr., Eugenio Martínez and Frank Sturgis. On Stember 15 On September 15, a grand jury indicted them for conspiracy, burglary and violation of federal wiretapping laws. They later found out that their main taret were the offices of Larry O'Brien, the Chairman of the DNC.

During the second term of President Nixon the Watergate crisis broke out. In 1973, news reporters suggested that the break-in was planned by the staff of the White House and prehap even the president himself. The FBI began to investgate this, and two reporters from the Washington Post revealed that certain officials close to the president may have planned the break-in. On April 30, 1973, Nixon was forced to ask for the resignation of two of his most influential aides, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, both of whom were indicted and ultimately went to prison. Meanwhile, Nixon repeatedly stated that he had no previous knowledge of the break-in and had no attempted on covering it up.

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The tapes of the watergate, the case of United v. Nixon and the aftermath will be in a part of this blog.

Pentagon Papers

The Pentagon papers was popular name for a 7,000-page top-secret United States government report about the history of the Government's internal planning and policy concerning the Vietnam War. These documents became famous when an State Department officer Daniel Ellsberg gave these paper to the to his friend Neil Sheehan, a New York time reporter, which was later publist in 1971. The document revel a 47-volume, 7,000-page, top-secret Department of Defense history of the United States' politico-military involvement in the war in Vietnam, from 1945 to 1967. The Pentagon Papers revealed many things, among of them, that the US deliberately expanded its war with airstrikes against Laos, coastal raids of North Vietnam, and U.S. Marine Corps attacks — before President Lyndon B. Johnson informed the American public, though promising to not expand the war. The revelations widened the credibility gap between the U.S. government and its people, which hurted Nixon administration's war effort. Anthony Lewis a writer for the New York Time said that the press had a First Amendment right to publish information significant to the people's understanding of their government's policy.Yet, President Nixon argued that Ellsberg and Russo were guilty of felony treason , because they had no authority to publish classified documents.

Another controversy that was in the Pentagon paper was that President Johnson sent combat troops to Vietnam by July 17, 1965, after pretending to consult his advisors on July 21–27, per the cable stating that Deput Secretary of Defense Cyrus Vance informs McNamara that President had approved 34 Battalion Plan and will try to push through reserve call-up. In 1988, when that cable was declassified, it was revealed that: there was a continuing uncertainty as to Johnson's final decision, which would have to await Secretary McNamara's recommendation and the views of Congressional leaders, particularly the views of Senator Richard Russell.

When the governer found out they sue the New York Time on June 26,1971, the Supreme Court agreed to hear both cases, consolidating to the 'New York Times Co. v. United States'. On June 30, 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, that the injunctions were unconstitutional prio restraint and that the Government failed didnt have enough to proof that the injunction were unconstitutional prio restraint. The New York time won case on First Amendment free speech absolutists, others people felt that it was a mild legal victory of little protection for publishers against national security claims to prior restraint of publishing. The Pentagon paper was some of the reason why the people were mad at the Vietnam war.

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Bobby Baker scandal

Bobby Baker was an aid to Senator Lyndon Johnson, who was involve in server scandalous activities with prominent mob bosses. Baker started out as a page for Johnson when he was only fourteen year old. Baker was so loyal to Johnson that when he became a vice president for John F. Kennedy Baker was his secretary. In 1962 Baker got with mobster Giancana and Meyer Lansky in helping the Intercontinental Hotels Group in build a casinos in the Dominican Republic, which would later serve as the new "Cuba" for the Mob. Baker continued to do business with the mob in the Dominican Republic, believing that the Dominican Republic could be the next Mafia in replacement for Cuba. Baker later get involve in the Quorum Club, which was secretly own by Johnson. He later would establish the Serve-U-Corporation with his friend, Fred Black, and mobsters Ed Levenson and Benny Sigelbaum. The company was to provide vending machines for companies that were working on federally granted programs. A company that was secretly own by Sam Giancana manufactured the machines and other mobsters based in Chicago.

Even though Bobby Baker official income came from this aid from Lyndon B. Johnson, he was a wealth man. Then rumors began to spread that he was involve in corrupt activities. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy stated to investigate baker, he discovered Baker's links to several Mafia bosses. Robert Kennedy also found evidence that Johnson was also involved in political corruption, including the awarding of a $7 billion contract for a fighter plane to Texas-based General Dynamics. Throughout the investigation Robert Kennedy also found that Baker was, involve in procuring women for President John F. Kennedy. In 1967, Bobby Baker was found guilty of 7 counts of theft, fraud and income tax evasion, also he resign as Secretary to the Senate on October 7, 1963.

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Teapot Dome scandal pt 2

Teapor Dome scandal was reveal to the public in 1924 when the Wall Street Journal reported a secret arrangement in which Fall had leased the petroleum reserves to a private oil company without competitive bidding. Fall denies this claim, the money Fall he receives was illegal—not the lease itself.

Thomas J. Walsh led the investigation to seek answer to many questions. For two years, Walsh was unable to find any answers and not evidence that show that was Fall was receiving money from the oils company. By 1924, the Committee had found all they needed to find but there was still one unanswered question: How did Fall become so rich so quickly? Walash later found one piece of evidence that fall forgot to cover up. Doheny's loan to Fall in November 1921, for $100,000. Over the next few months, dozens of witnesses testified before the committee. On January 24, 1924, Edward Doheny admitted that he had lent Fall $100,000. Fall was found guilty of bribery in 1929, fined $100,000 and was sentenced to one year in prison. Harry Sinclair, was charged with contempt, fined $100,000, and received a short sentence for tampering with a jury. Edward Doheny was acquitted in 1930 of attempting to bribe Fall.


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Teapot Dome scandal

The origin of the Teapot Dome scandal data back when presidents Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft and Woodrow Wilson, create a naval petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California. The three naval oil fields was the Elk Hills and Buena Vista Hills in California and Teapot Dome in Wyoming, were tracts of public land that were reserved by previous presidents to be emergency underground supplies that was to be used by the navy only when the oil supplies was diminished. Many politicians and private oil company interests was to opposed the restrictions placed on the oil fields, they claimed that the reserves were unnecessary and that the American oil companies could provide for the U.S. Navy.

One of the politicians who opposed the conservation was Senator Albert B. Fall,a member of the Ohio Gang, who later became Secretary of the Interior in 1921. The Ohio Gang was a group made up of politicians and industry leaders who believe that the government control business and that we shouldn't deal in the affairs of Europe. Fall using his power as the Secretary of the Interior convinced the Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby to turn over the control of the oil fields over to him. Fall then leases the Teapot Dome to Harry Sinclair's Mammoth Oil Company and he reserve Elk Hills to Edward Doheny's Pan American Petroleum Company. In return for leasing the oil Fields, Sincair and Doheny gave Fall a total about $400,000

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Whiskey Ring Scandal

The Whiskey Ring was a scandal that was expose in 1875 through the efforts of Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow. In prior to 1875 statistics shows that United State,in St. Louis, Mo., alone, had lost about $1,200,000 of tax revenue which it should have received from whiskey, Bristow use secret agents from outside the Treasury department to conduct a series of raids across the country on May 10, 1875. The Whiskey Ring Scandal began in St. Louis, but later it was also that found there were other branches in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Peoria. It occurred to some politicians to have the revenue officers raise a campaign to fund among the distillers. The officers later modified this idea, raising money for themselves, and giving money to people that about the scandal to keep hush. Huge corruption funds was distributed among gages, storekeepers, and tax collectors, according to a fixed schedule of prices. Because of the investigation by Secretary Bristow, arrests were made in nearly every city that were involved in the scandal. Indictments were found against 152 liquor men and other private parties, and against 86 government officials, notably the chief clerk in the Treasury Department, and President Ulysses S. Grant's private secretary, Gen. Orville E. Babcock. Babcock however escaped conviction only because of a presidential pardon

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Source index 2 New York time January 16, 1921,

Credit Mobilier of America scandal

A construction company call Credit Mobilier was own by Union Pacific stockholders who was give them a huge contract to build 1,074 km train track. They were ａ　given a huge contract because the construction company was funneling money from Union Pacific. The Union Pacific was a company that owns the majority of the stock at the time. The company also gave cheap shares of stock to members of Congress who agreed to support additional funding. With the money the Union Pacific was getting from the government funds, and subsidies, they union pacific were making a lot of money.

In 1867 a congressional representative name Oakes Ames were allowed members of Congress to purchase shares at face rather than market value, those are the same people who voted the government funds to cover the inflated charges of Credit Mobilier. When the police were investing this case they found that the company had given stocks to over thirty representatives of both parties. Some of the members of congress that were involve in this scandal included Schuyler Colfax, James W. Patterson ,Henry Wilson and James A. Garfield. When Garfield was running for president he decline these charges and went on becoming the twentieth president of the United Stated.

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