Reagan administration scandals
Encyclopedia
The presidency of Ronald Reagan in the United States
was marked by multiple scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment, or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any US president.
conceded that the United States
had sold weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran, as part of a largely unsuccessful effort to secure the release of six US citizens being held hostage. It was also disclosed that some of the money from the arms deal with Iran had been covertly and illegally funneled into a fund to aid the right-wing Contras
counter-revolutionary groups seeking to overthrow the socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua
. The Iran-contra scandal as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency. The investigations were effectively halted when President George H. W. Bush
(Reagan's vice president) pardoned Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger
before his trial began.
Secretary Samuel Pierce
and his associates rigging low income housing bids to favor Republican contributors to Reagan's campaign as well as rewarding Republican lobbyists such as James G. Watt
a former Secretary of the Interior. Sixteen convictions were eventually handed down, including the following:
Pierce, the Secretary, though the "central person" in the scandal, was not charged because he made "full and public written acceptance of responsibility."
Retired Federal Judge Arlin M. Adams
served as independent counsel in first five years of the prosecution, through 1995, and Larry Thompson
completed the work 1995-98.
during the Reagan Administration. Over twenty high-level EPA employees were removed from office during Reagan's first three years as president. Additionally, several Agency officials resigned amidst a variety of charges, ranging from being unduly influenced by industry groups to rewarding or punishing employees based on their political beliefs.
Sewergate, the most prominent EPA scandal during this period, involved the targeted release of Superfund
grants to enhance the election prospects of local officials aligned with the Republican Party
.
Attorney General Edwin Meese
(R) refused to investigate the matter. His successor Attorney General Dick Thornburgh
(R) also refused to investigate. They were succeeded by Attorney General William P. Barr (R) who also refused to investigate the matter. No charges were ever filed.
As an indication of this scandal's size, Martin Mayer
wrote at the time, "The theft from the taxpayer by the community that fattened on the growth of the savings and loan (S&L) industry in the 1980s is the worst public scandal in American history. Teapot Dome in the Harding administration and the Credit Mobilier
in the times of Ulysses S. Grant
have been taken as the ultimate horror stories of capitalist
democracy gone to seed. Measuring by money, [or] by the misallocation of national resources... the S&L outrage makes Teapot Dome and Credit Mobilier seem minor episodes."
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith
called it "the largest and costliest venture in public misfeasance, malfeasance and larceny of all time."
refers to a scandal affecting the administration of Ronald Reagan
; it involved the final days of the 1980 presidential election and briefing papers that were to have been used by President Jimmy Carter
in preparation for the October 28, 1980, debate with Reagan had somehow been acquired by Reagan's team. This fact was not divulged to the public until late June 1983, after Laurence Barrett published Gambling With History: Reagan in the White House, an in-depth account of the Reagan administration's first two years.
James Baker
swore under oath that he had received the briefing book from William Casey, Reagan's campaign manager, but Casey vehemently denied this. The matter was never resolved as both the FBI and a congressional subcommittee failed to determine how or through whom the briefing book came to the Reagan campaign.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was marked by multiple scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment, or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any US president.
Iran-Contra Affair
The most well-known and politically damaging of the scandals came to light in November 1986, when Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
conceded that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
had sold weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran, as part of a largely unsuccessful effort to secure the release of six US citizens being held hostage. It was also disclosed that some of the money from the arms deal with Iran had been covertly and illegally funneled into a fund to aid the right-wing Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
counter-revolutionary groups seeking to overthrow the socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. The Iran-contra scandal as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency. The investigations were effectively halted when President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
(Reagan's vice president) pardoned Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger , was an American politician, vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after...
before his trial began.
- Caspar Weinberger, United States Secretary of DefenseUnited States Secretary of DefenseThe Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
, was pardoned before trial by George H. W. Bush - Elliott AbramsElliott AbramsElliott Abrams is an American attorney and neoconservative policy analyst who served in foreign policy positions for two Republican U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. While serving for Reagan and in the State Department, Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, and retired U.S. Marine Corps officer...
agreed to cooperate with investigators and in return was allowed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges instead of facing possible felony indictments. He was sentenced to two years probation and one hundred hours of community service. He was also pardoned by Bush on December 24, 1992 along with five other former Reagan Administration officials who had been implicated in connection with Iran-Contra. - National Security Advisor Robert C. McFarlane, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors and was sentenced to two years probation and 200 hours of community service and was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. He was also pardoned by Bush.
- Alan D. FiersAlan D. FiersAlan D. Fiers, Jr, was President Ronald Reagan's Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Central American Task Force from October 1984 until his retirement in 1988....
was the Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Central American Task Force. He pleaded guilty in 1991 to two counts of withholding information from Congress and was sentenced to one year of probation and one hundred hours of community service. He was also pardoned by Bush. - Richard R. Miller - Partner with Oliver North in IBC, an Office of Public Diplomacy front group, convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
- Clair GeorgeClair GeorgeClair Elroy George was a widely respected veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine service who oversaw all global espionage activities for the agency in the mid-1980s...
was Chief of the Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's Division of Covert Operations under President Reagan. George was convicted of lying to two congressional committees in 1986. He was pardoned by Bush. - Richard SecordRichard SecordMajor General Richard V. Secord, Retired , is a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal....
was indicted on nine felony counts of lying to Congress and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of lying to Congress. - Thomas G. ClinesThomas G. ClinesThomas G. Clines was a Central Intelligence Agency covert operations agent who was a prominent figure in the Iran-Contra Affair.-CIA career:As a CIA agent, between 1961–1962, Clines was involved in covert operations in Cuba....
was convicted of four counts of tax-related offenses for failing to report income from the Iran/Contra operations. - Carl R. Channel - Office of Public Diplomacy, partner in International Business- first person convicted in the Iran/Contra scandal, pleaded guilty of one count of defrauding the United States
- John PoindexterJohn PoindexterJohn Marlan Poindexter is a retired United States naval officer and Department of Defense official. He was Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Advisor for the Reagan administration. He was convicted in April 1990 of multiple felonies as a result of his actions in the Iran-Contra...
, Reagan's national security advisor, was found guilty of five criminal accounts including lying to Congress, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. His conviction was later overturned on grounds that he did not receive a fair trial (the prosecution may have been influenced by his immunized testimony in front of Congress.) - Oliver NorthOliver NorthOliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
was indicted on sixteen charges in the Iran/Contra affair and found guilty of three - aiding and abetting obstruction of Congress, shredding or altering official documents and accepting a gratuity. His convictions were later overturned on the grounds that his immunized testimony had tainted his trial. - Duane R. Clarridge (US Republican Party) also pardoned before trial by Bush
- Albert HakimAlbert HakimAlbert Hakim was an Iranian businessman and a figure in the Iran-Contra affair.Born in Iran, Hakim attended California Polytechnic Institute for 3 years, beginning in 1955. Back in Iran, he established an export business specializing in advanced technologies, and in avoiding export restrictions...
pleaded guilty to supplementing the salary of North - Joseph F. FernandezJoseph F. FernandezJoseph F. Fernandez was a Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Costa Rica and a figure in the Iran-Contra Affair....
indicted on four counts of obstruction and false statements; case dismissed when Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh refused to declassify information needed for his defense
Department of Housing and Urban Development grant rigging
The HUD rigging scandal consisted of Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentUnited States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...
Secretary Samuel Pierce
Samuel Pierce
Samuel Riley Pierce, Jr. was Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.-Early life:Pierce was an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Pierce was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha social fraternity and Alpha Phi Omega service...
and his associates rigging low income housing bids to favor Republican contributors to Reagan's campaign as well as rewarding Republican lobbyists such as James G. Watt
James G. Watt
James Gaius Watt served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior for President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983.-Early life and career:...
a former Secretary of the Interior. Sixteen convictions were eventually handed down, including the following:
- James WattJames G. WattJames Gaius Watt served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior for President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983.-Early life and career:...
, Reagan's Secretary of the InteriorUnited States Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
was indicted on 24 felony counts and pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor. He was sentenced to five years probation, and ordered to pay a $5000 fine. - Phillip D. Winn - Assistant HUD Secretary. Pleaded guilty to one count of scheming to give illegal gratuities.; pardoned by President Bill Clinton, Nov., 2000
- Thomas DemeryThomas DemeryThomas T. Demery was Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Reagan presidency. He returned to the private sector in January 1989.- Career :...
- Assistant HUD Secretary - pleaded guilty to steering HUD subsidies to politically connected donors. Found guilty of bribery and obstruction of justice - Deborah Gore DeanDeborah Gore DeanDeborah Gore Dean is a former United States federal employee, in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Ronald Reagan presidency, she is also a distant relative of the famous Senator Albert Gore Sr. and second cousin once removed of former Vice President Albert Gore Jr....
- executive assistant to Secretary Pierce - indicted on thirteen counts, three counts of conspiracy, one count of accepting an illegal gratuity, four counts of perjury, and five counts of concealing articles. She was convicted on twelve. She appealed and prevailed on several counts but the convictions for conspiracy remained. - 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.
- Silvio D. DeBartolomeis convicted of perjury and bribery.
- Catalina Vasquez VillalpandoCatalina Vasquez VillalpandoCatalina "Cathi" Vásquez Villalpando was the 39th Treasurer of the United States from December 11, 1989 to January 20, 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. She had previously held minor positions under President Ronald Reagan and was also a chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly...
, the Treasurer of the United StatesTreasurer of the United StatesThe Treasurer of the United States is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury that was originally charged with the receipt and custody of government funds, though many of these functions have been taken over by different bureaus of the Department of the Treasury...
from 1989 to 1993
Pierce, the Secretary, though the "central person" in the scandal, was not charged because he made "full and public written acceptance of responsibility."
Retired Federal Judge Arlin M. Adams
Arlin M. Adams
Arlin Marvin Adams is a retired senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is currently of counsel to Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP.- Early life and education :...
served as independent counsel in first five years of the prosecution, through 1995, and Larry Thompson
Larry Thompson
Larry Dean Thompson is an American lawyer, most notable for his service as deputy Attorney General of the United States under United States President George W. Bush until August 2003...
completed the work 1995-98.
Lobbying scandal
When an administration staff member leaves office, federal law governs how quickly one can begin a lobbying career.- Michael DeaverMichael DeaverMichael Keith Deaver was a member of President Ronald Reagan's White House staff serving as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under James Baker III and Donald Regan from January 1981 until May 1985.-Early life:...
, Reagan’s Chief of Staff, was convicted of lying to both a congressional committee and to a federal grand jury about his lobbying activities after he left the government. He received three years probation and was fined $100,000 after being convicted for lying to a congressional subcommittee. - Lyn NofzigerLyn NofzigerFranklyn Curran "Lyn" Nofziger was an American journalist, political consultant and author. He served as press secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration as Governor of California, and as a White House advisor during the Richard Nixon administration and again during the Reagan...
Reagan's Press Secretary was convicted on charges of illegal lobbying after leaving government service in Wedtech scandal. His conviction was later overturned.
EPA scandals
A number of scandals occurred at the Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
during the Reagan Administration. Over twenty high-level EPA employees were removed from office during Reagan's first three years as president. Additionally, several Agency officials resigned amidst a variety of charges, ranging from being unduly influenced by industry groups to rewarding or punishing employees based on their political beliefs.
Sewergate, the most prominent EPA scandal during this period, involved the targeted release of Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
grants to enhance the election prospects of local officials aligned with the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
- Rita LavelleRita LavelleRita Marie Lavelle is a United States and California State Republican political figure. Lavelle was convicted on federal charges of perjury related to an investigation into misuse of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's "Superfund" money during her tenure with the agency, and...
, an administrator at the EPA, misused Superfund monies and was convicted of perjury. She served three months in prison, was fined $10,000 and given five years probation. - Anne Gorsuch Burford, the controversial head of the EPA. Burford, citing "Executive Privilege," refused to turn over Superfund records to Congress. She was found in Contempt, whereupon she resigned.
Inslaw Affair
- Inslaw Affair (1985-1994+); a protracted legal case that alleged that top-level officials of President Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's (R) Department of Justice were involved in software piracy of the Promis program from Inslaw Inc. forcing it into bankruptcy and then failed to appoint an independent counsel to investigate it.
- D. Lowell Jensen, Deputy Attorney General was held in Contempt of Congress.
- C. Madison Brewer A high ranking Justice Department official was held in Contempt of Congress.
Attorney General Edwin Meese
Edwin Meese
Edwin "Ed" Meese, III is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration , the Reagan Presidential Transition Team , and the Reagan White House , eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of...
(R) refused to investigate the matter. His successor Attorney General Dick Thornburgh
Dick Thornburgh
Richard Lewis "Dick" Thornburgh is an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 41st Governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the U.S...
(R) also refused to investigate. They were succeeded by Attorney General William P. Barr (R) who also refused to investigate the matter. No charges were ever filed.
Savings & loan crisis
- Savings and loan crisisSavings and Loan crisisThe savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
in which 747 institutions failed and had to be rescued with $160 billion of taxpayer monies. Reagan's "elimination of loopholes" in the tax codeTax codeIn the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs. This is usually in the form of a number followed by a letter suffix, though other 'non-standard' codes are also used. This code describes to employers how much tax to deduct from an employee. The...
included the elimination of the "passive loss" provisions that subsidized rental housing. Because this was removed retroactively, it bankrupted many real estate developments which used this tax break as a premise, which in turn bankrupted 747 Savings and Loans, many of whom were operating, moreorless, as banks, thus requiring the Federal Deposit Insurance CorporationFederal Deposit Insurance CorporationThe Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
to cover their debts and losses with tax payer money. This with some other "deregulation" policies, ultimately led to the largest political and financial scandal in U.S. history to that date. The savings and Loan crisisSavings and Loan crisisThe savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
. The ultimate cost of the crisis is estimated to have totaled around USD $150 billion, about $125 billion of which was directly subsidized by the U.S. government, which further increased the large budget deficits of the early 1990s. See Keating FiveKeating FiveThe Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators – Alan Cranston , Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn , John McCain , and Donald W. Riegle,...
.
As an indication of this scandal's size, Martin Mayer
Martin Mayer
Martin Prager Mayer is the writer of 35 non-fiction books, including Madison Avenue, U.S.A. , The Schools , The Lawyers , About Television , The Bankers , The Builders , Risky Business: The Collapse of Lloyd's of London , The Bankers: The Next Generation , The Fed...
wrote at the time, "The theft from the taxpayer by the community that fattened on the growth of the savings and loan (S&L) industry in the 1980s is the worst public scandal in American history. Teapot Dome in the Harding administration and the Credit Mobilier
Credit Mobilier
Credit Mobilier may refer to:* Crédit Mobilier, a large French bank* Crédit Mobilier of America, an American railroad construction company setup by the Union Pacific Railroad to build the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s *...
in the times of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
have been taken as the ultimate horror stories of capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
democracy gone to seed. Measuring by money, [or] by the misallocation of national resources... the S&L outrage makes Teapot Dome and Credit Mobilier seem minor episodes."
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
called it "the largest and costliest venture in public misfeasance, malfeasance and larceny of all time."
Debategate
DebategateDebategate
Debategate was a scandal affecting the administration of Ronald Reagan; it took place in the final days of the 1980 presidential election. Briefing papers that were to have been used by President Jimmy Carter in preparation for the October 28, 1980, debate with Reagan had somehow been acquired by...
refers to a scandal affecting the administration of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
; it involved the final days of the 1980 presidential election and briefing papers that were to have been used by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in preparation for the October 28, 1980, debate with Reagan had somehow been acquired by Reagan's team. This fact was not divulged to the public until late June 1983, after Laurence Barrett published Gambling With History: Reagan in the White House, an in-depth account of the Reagan administration's first two years.
James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
swore under oath that he had received the briefing book from William Casey, Reagan's campaign manager, but Casey vehemently denied this. The matter was never resolved as both the FBI and a congressional subcommittee failed to determine how or through whom the briefing book came to the Reagan campaign.
See also
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
- Savings and Loan crisisSavings and Loan crisisThe savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...