Every politician has dirt that is difficult to unfold to the public, they say. Be it denials or making good payments to their lawyers or even just saying the truth, it all comes down to how good politicians hide their ugly secrets. But, in Spiro Agnew’s case, upon investigation of the United States Department of Justice, he was charged for joining a kickback scheme when he served as the executive of Baltimore County, Maryland; as the governor of Maryland; and as the vice president of the United States of America. This eventually led to his resignation as the second highest office in the country on October 10, 1973. Public bids were absent during that time in Maryland so state engineering contracts were solely decided by the governor and the members of the State Roads Commission. Lester Matz and John Childs’ Maryland construction company was one of the engineering firms who confided with Agnew to entrust them such contracts provided that they give a percentage of the amount of contract to Agnew. The payment was …show more content…
through a go-between, who also had a percentage, and directly to the governor and later the vice president Spiro Agnew himself. Participants include several engineers, state officials, and businessmen. Moreover, Agnew denied all charges and pleaded nolo contendere or “no contest” to an accusation of failing to report $29,500 income he received in 1967. Canon 5, category (a) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Code of Ethics states that, “Engineers shall not give, solicit or receive either directly or indirectly, any political contribution, gratuity, or unlawful consideration in order to secure work, exclusive of securing salaried positions through employment agencies.” Lester Matz and John Childs’ construction company, for example, landed that preposterous agreement upon having an initial meeting with Agnew, who was then a county executive, and a close associate J.
Walter Jones. The money Agnew received was further used for his gubernatorial campaigns and this scheme continued as he held the vice presidential office. These companies, together with their engineers, clearly violated the canon for the purpose of having more projects, and hence, more income. The kickback lasted for years as Agnew rose from being a mere county executive to a vice president with the money used for his
campaigns. According to Canon 6, category (a), “Engineers shall not knowingly engage in business or professional practices of a fraudulent, dishonest or unethical nature.” Agnew lied to his people he served as a public official, therefore, the kickback is considered a fraudulent professional practice. The said engineers engaged themselves to this scandal, so, they also fooled the nation. For both sides, the engineering firms and Agnew, without doubt, benefited or had mutualism with the scheme. After the investigation, Agnew left office earning the distinction as the first vice president to depart office with a criminal record. ASCE’s Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) had an inquiry of those involved who were the society’s members. Three engineers and a go-between were questioned and expelled from ASCE.
The applicant Mr. Arthur Hutchinson was born in 1941. In October 1983, he broke into a house, murdered a man, his wife and their adult son. Then he repeatedly raped their 18-year old daughter, having first dragged her past her father’s body. After several weeks, he was arrested by the police and chargedwith the offences. During the trial he refused to accept the offence and pleaded for innocence. He denied accepting the killings and sex with the younger daughter.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier of 1987-1988 Background: At Hazel East High School, the school has a sponsored newspaper called “The Spectrum” that is written and edited by the students. In May of 1983, the high school principal, Robert E. Reynolds, received the edited version of the May 13th edition. Upon inspecting the paper, he found two articles that he found “inappropriate.” The two articles contained stories about divorce and teen pregnancy. An article on divorce featured a student who blamed her father’s actions for her parents’ divorce.
Mr. Cockburn concluded that the evidence presented in this case was misinterpret and misapprehend, the leading investigation was “unscientific and slipshod” which lead to the sentence of Edward splatt. Many questions were raised, whether police officers should collect trace elements from the crime scene? The involvemet of police officers collecting samples rather than scientific experts which could lead to wrong and misleading evidence? The scientific procedure undertaking in this investigation. And these collected samples collected from officers and tested would lead to unvaluable piece of evidence.After Edward splatt conviction, anattorney- general by the name of Mr Griffin keeped a close eye on the case and examined the moran report and
“Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it’s set a rolling it must increase (Charles Caleb Colton).” Colton describes that once corruption has begun, it is difficult to stop. Corruption has existed in this country, let alone this very planet, since the beginning of time. With corruption involves: money, power, and favoritism. Many people argue today that racism is still a major problem to overcome in today’s legal system. American author (and local Chicago resident) Steve Bogira jumps into the center of the United States justice system and tells the story of what happens in a typical year for the Cook Country Criminal Courthouse, which has been noted as one of the most hectic and busiest felony courthouses in the entire country. After getting permission from one of the courthouse judges’ (Judge Locallo) he was allowed to venture in and get eyewitness accounts of what the American Legal System is and how it operates. Not only did he get access to the courtroom but: Locallo’s chambers, staff, even his own home. In this book we get to read first hand account of how America handles issues like: how money and power play in the court, the favoritism towards certain ethnic groups, and the façade that has to be put on by both the defendants and Cook County Workers,
On the turntable of American politics Dick Morris has established himself as a masterful disk jockey. However, his ability to artistically mix campaign messages has earned him a scratched personal reputation. The rhetoric of Dick Morris transcends partisan boundaries to such a degree that it lacks foundation. His career has earned him praise but at the expense of intense scorn. His political strategy and poll based campaigning have earned him a reputation as both a genius and amoral. In many ways the controversial aspects of his messages reflect contemporary discussion of American politics. The flaws of his character reveal some of the flaws in our representative system. The recent Impeachment Trial of President Clinton has also brought attention to flaws in our representative system. Dick Morris's political commentary on the Impeachment and the work of his career offers insight with which to examine a growing discontent among the American public towards our nation's politics.
The Watergate Scandal and the resignation of President Nixon was the beginning of American’s mistrust of politicians. This can be viewed as a positive effect. As a result three important open record reforms created. The first of the reforms is the Sunshine Act in 1976. This requires government agencies to conduct meetings that are open to public, with a few exceptions. In 1978, the Ethics in Government Act requires public officials to disclose financial and employment records. The Presidential Records Act, also initiated in 1978, required preservati...
On August 17, 1998, exactly one year after making the statement above, President Bill Clinton prepared to deliver a speech concerning a scandal that had gripped the nation for months. It is needless to say that this was an important moment during the Clinton administration. After accusations of sexual harassment, Clinton addressed the nation and admitted to having a relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In this critical speech Clinton set out to admit to wrong-doings, provide a few reasons for his action, and ultimately persuade the audience into moving on and forgetting the scandal. This essay will break down his speech into sections and examine the most and least effective strategies that Clinton employed and how well he executed those strategies. This is an interesting speech given under rare circumstances. Not since Watergate had an American president been under such harsh moral criticism from the public. By looking critically at this speech we are able to gain valuable insight into Clinton's motives.
Keck, Zachary. "Yes, Edward Snowden Is a Traitor." The Diplomat. N.p., 21 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014
While Harding himself may not have come into the presidency planning to abuse the office, his cabinet did. In the Teapot Dome Scandal, the Harding administration caught flak for both giving out free handouts to political allies and for guaranteeing government contracts to businesses and corporations that supported Harding’s candidacy. Of all the illegal handouts however, the most notorious was that of Tea Pot Dome, a government-owned oil reserve that was leased to donors by Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall (Foner781) . This scandal, combined with Harding’s apathetic approach to social issues, left many Americans distrustful of the government and shameful of the true end to progressivism. This also caused many people to start to feel that the government was too friendly with big businesses, especially after these groups had grown back to power due to the industrial need during World War I. While there is no direct correlation, this may also have been the origin of the distrust people had with big businesses in the late 1900s, particularly that of the hippie movement. In total, while returning to normalcy, may have meant calmer times separate from war and progressivism, it also ended up meaning a return to the corruption of government from the gilded
The Hunting of the President presented an argument by Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry that from 1990 to 2000 a group of people were committed to destroying the reputation of William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton. Through elaborate testimonials, the claim is that this group of well-funded individuals as well as media attempted to gain from Clinton’s alleged misfortunes.
...es has done a great service in bringing these previously published essays together. All are stimulating; many are truly excellent. Yet I wonder: Where is the private in this analysis? What are its distinctive functions, comforts, and benefits? Are some of the authors too sanguine about our ability to protect our private lives? What might be the dangers of legitimating an embodied and particular political presence (and multiple, raucous publics)? As I [End Page 181] conclude this review, President Clinton has been impeached for a private act made public, and the most public act of all, the bombing of another country, has raised little debate. These events should force us to confront anew our conceptualizations of the public and the private--as well as our presence and role in public life. The discussion, to which this volume makes a significant contribution, continues.
Executive privilege has been around since Washington’s first term in office as the first official president of the United States. During Washington’s presidency he set the stage for the use of executive privilege that will evolve over time into something far greater than its initial purpose. Clinton and Nixon utilized executive privilege in a greater sense than Washington, and later Jefferson. They used executive privilege to cover up their wrongdoings and illegal activities. The outcome of the Nixon trial led to the official acknowledgment of executive privilege as a power allotted to the president and other executive officials, but it also noted that the power of executive privilege does not override the need of key information in a criminal investigation.
` In this article, Amita Kelly summarizes and informs the public about a shift in Trump’s campaign board. Friday morning, Trump made a statement about how Paul Manafort turned in his resignation after being his lead campaign chairman for the 2016 election. Resigning only months before the final election. Manafort’s resignation might have been caused by a sudden “shakeup at the top of [Trump’s Campaign] operation...where Trump hired two new top campaign officials, which was widely seen as a demotion for Manafort.” But Manafort’s resignation might have been caused by the discovering of his name in a black ledger belonging to the former Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych. This Black ledger contained names of people that received off the
Artifice or deception is often perceived as a negative action. However, it is possible for it to be useful in a political theater, but what are the consequences? Artifice can simultaneously help and destroy someone. If found to be dishonest, a person could lose their position, or lose the support of many people. Whether or not artifice is an essential skill is interesting because artifice is used by many politicians to businessmen alike. This makes it particularly relevant in today’s society. Some still believe that artifice is an essential skill. They say this is because it can be utilized in many situations. There are a few reasons why it is simply not a critical skill.
In the novel Capitol Punishment, an autobiography written by Jack Abramoff, the readers learn about Abramoff’s life as an infamous lobbyist and come to see how he built his political career overtime with many triumphs and tribulations. Readers will first learn that Abramoff’s political career started when he was in elementary school and it continued through high school and college and how his passion for politics landed him in the White House for many events and dinners with the President and fellow politicians. During his early years, Abramoff veered away from politics and began a career producing films, often leaving him to travel and be away from his family for periods of time. He soon left his career in film making and made his way back