Challenge

Reaction

Result

Charles Rangel (D) – failed to report income on rental property and thus avoided taxes on foreign property.  He also benefitted from corporate sponsored trips that are against House ethics rules.  He used a government parking lot to store his automobile and he was receiving privileged rates for the rental of four New York apartments that were for his personal use. 

Democrats circled the wagons and protected Rangel for months

Republicans called for his removal from the top position in the Congress on tax laws

Congressman Rangel requested a leave of absence from his position has head of the House Ways and Means Committee.  There remains a question to be resolved in this respect.  House rules provide for someone to either be chairman or not.  There is no provision for a “leave of absence.”

Eric Massa (D) – accused of having made improper sexual advances to a male staffer

Democrats initially held onto the information but when it was determined his vote on the healthcare legislation would be ‘no’ the information was released by Stenny Hoyer.

Massa will not run for reelection. 

William Jefferson (D) - $90,000 was found in the refrigerator freezer of his Washington office on a warrant issued in the investigation of corruption charges.  He was eventually indicted on bribery charges, selling his influence in the House of Representatives

Democrats circled the wagons and protected Congressman Jefferson.  Nancy Pelosi’s most honest and ethical Congress took second priority to protecting a fellow democrat in his hour of need.  Charges were made that his office was immune from court ordered warrants. 

Even Dennis Hastert, the Republican Speaker at the time protested the lack of notice for such a warrant of an office under the jurisdiction of the Congress. 

Jefferson lost his 2008 bid for reelection to a republican.  He was convicted in 2009 on multiple counts of corruption and bribery. 

Mark Foley (R) – Sent sexually explicit messages by e-mail to his male aides. 

Condemnation by both Democrats and Republicans

Resignation from Congress

Duke Cunningham (R) – pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes

Democrats condemned Cunningham

Republicans condemned Cunningham

Resigned from Congress

Larry Craig (R) – accused of attempting to solicit another male inside an airport bathroom.  Pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct

Condemnation by both Democrats and Republicans

Did not seek reelection in 2008

Tom Delay (R) – a questionable indictment came from a Travis County DA who was a well known political enemy of the Congressman.  He indicted the Speaker for irregularities in drawing legislative districts.  A judge dismissed this case.  He was also indicted for moving corporate money to republican candidates.  The Texas courts dismissed the charges and the dismissal was upheld by Texas appellate court 5 -4. 

Delay was excoriated by Democrats whose primary concern was the redistricting of Texas into legislative districts more likely to result in republican representatives.  Their complaints were without merit if one considers that Texas was voting predominantly for republicans in statewide elections.  This was not reflected by prior district boundaries as previously gerrymandered by democrats.   Ronnie Earle, the Travis Count DA had a reputation for indicting republicans on nuisance types of charges and it was unknown whether these charges were trumped up or not but ultimately charges were dismissed but not until after Delay was chased from the House.  Republicans mixed their points of view from support to requests that he step down as Speaker.

Republicans asked that the Speaker stand down from his Speaker seat.  He did not run for reelection

Edward Kennedy (D) – drove his car off a bridge at Chappaquiddick an island near Cape Cod in Massachusetts.  In the back seat was a campaign worker that he had been having a romantic liaison with in his limo when their sport was interrupted by a local security man.  He did not want to be recognized so he jumped in the front seat, tore off and they went into the water.  Mary Jo Kopechne was trapped in the water still inside the car.  Senator Kennedy, rather than seek help to save this young woman’s life returned to a party and demanded his cousin tell the world he had been the driver and Senator Kennedy jumped in the water and swam back to the mainland to be awakened the next morning by the horrible news that his campaign staffer had died this tragic death. 

Democrats and the media circled the wagons to protect Senator Kennedy

Senator Kennedy served 40 more years in the US Senate when he should have been serving 10 to 30 in Attica for vehicular homicide.  He is now interred in Arlington Cemetery as a national hero. 

Gary Condit (D) – was involved in an affair with Chandra Levy a member of his campaign staff.  Sondra disappeared and the search for Chandra exposed the Congressman’s illicit affair and made him a suspect in her disappearance.  Her body was eventually found in the bushes next to a hiking trail inside a local park. 

Democrats circled the wagons to protect Congressman Condit.  The voters had to take care of him the next fall. 

Condit began by lying about the affair until the third time he was questioned. 

He was allowed to keep his seat on the Intelligence Committee. 

He failed in his bid for reelection when he lost the primary election in March 2002

The Chandra Levy case remains unsolved however someone else was indicted for her murder. 

John F Kennedy (D) – carried on with multiple women in the White House and allegedly was addicted to pain killers

The press protected President Kennedy from charges like this and looked the other way in the early 1960’s.  This was probably a combination of both cultural and ideological bent.  It is questionable whether Richard Nixon would have enjoyed anything in the way of parity from this same press corps.

Assassinated in 1963

Spiro Agnew (R) – while in local office and as  governor of the state of Maryland Agnew accepted bribes

Democrats went after Agnew

Republicans would not protect him

Agnew resigned from office prior to President Nixon’s resignation. 

Richard Nixon (R) – involved himself in a cover-up of an election caper, a burglary of Democrat Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel

Democrats went after him with special investigative committees and with reckless abandon. 

Republicans Goldwater and Baker went to Nixon and told him they would not protect him if he had done anything illegal.  Baker spoke the famous words, “What did he know and when did he know it?” on the Senate floor.

Nixon was forced to resign to avoid impeachment

William Jefferson Clinton (D) – While governor of Arkansas Clinton made a lewd and improper advance to a state employee, Paula Jones.  Sexual harassment charges were brought against Clinton and despite his attempts to delay a trial until after he left office his efforts were futile.  While before a federal grand jury Clinton lied to prosecutors about another affair he was then having with an intern named Monica Lewinsky.  Attorneys were attempting to demonstrate a pattern of behavior but he did not want the nation to know of his adulterous behavior.  He had committed a felony.

Republicans impeached Clinton for his felonious testimony.

Democrats circled the wagons and the impeachment was entirely on a party line vote.  His lying was excused as being only about sex despite the fact that it was a case that was all about sex.  Paula Jones was dragged through the media as trailer trash.  NOW and other feminist groups refused to support Paula Jones despite the growing recognition that she had indeed been sexually harassed by a man in the most powerful position in the state but that he was involved in numerous affairs, he had been implicated in another improper sexual charges by Kathleen Willy and he had even been accused of rape by one Juanita Broderick. 

House managers took the case to the Senate.  The Senate refused to convict.

Clinton was impeached but he remained in his office to complete his second term and he was hailed as a hero by his fellow democrats.

James Traficant (D) – took campaign funds for personal use

Democrats circled the wagons and defended Traficant up until the time of his conviction.  During his trial he remained in the house but his voting rights were suspended in accordance with House Ethics Rules. 

Traficant went to jail and was expelled from the House at the time of his conviction.

Dan Rostenkowski (D) – was charged with dipping his fingers in the till.  He sent government payroll checks to personal staff in his Chicago office and purchased personal items and gifts using taxpayer money.  He was prominent in the Post Office Scandal.  He allegedly embezzled post office funds for his personal use.

Democrats circled the wagons but could not protect him with the amount of evidence available. 

Prosecutors offered him the opportunity to resign and to plead to a simple mail fraud charge carrying a 17 month sentence.  The Congressman went to jail and served 15 months.

Barney Frank (D) – was involved in scandal in that his “boyfriend” was running a prostitution ring from Frank’s home.

Democrats circled the wagons to protect Congressman Frank.  Only two members of the Democrat House voted to censure him. 

He remains in the House and is at the focal point of the scandal involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

Wayne Hays (D) – had his paramour on the federal payroll as a secretary that didn’t type. 

Democrats circled the wagons to protect Congressman Hays

He eventually resigned.

Mel Reynolds (D) – convicted of multiple instances of sexual assault on a 16 year old

Democrats circled the wagons but he was forced to resign his seat after his conviction.

President Clinton pardoned him before he left office.

Gerry Studds (D) – censured for a sexual relationship with an underage male page

Democrats circled the wagons

He was reelected by Massachusetts democrats six more times.

Dennis Hastert (R) – allegedly looked the other way when evidence began to emerge about Mark Foley

Democrats insisted on his resignation

Republicans took away his leadership position as Speaker

He resigned his seat

Jim Wright (D) – was illegally benefitting from royalties from a book deal where the royalties were predicated upon sales made to those wanting to enrich him for favors

Democrats circled the wagons but replaced him as Speaker

Republicans insisted on his resignation

He resigned his seat in Congress

Bob Livingston (R) – admitted to adultery on the House floor

During the Clinton impeachment scandal Livingston resigned from office and invited Clinton to do the same thing as an honorable person.  There didn’t appear to be any time to lash out at  him or to circle the wagons

He resigned his seat and gave up his opportunity to be Speaker.