9 Obama Scandals

Tuesday, March 26,

 

 

 

Federal government scandals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009– Obama Administration

Executive Branch

• Eric Holder Attorney General, was held in Contempt of Congress by the House of Representatives after refusing to turn over all of the documents they had demanded concerning the Fast and Furious gun walking operation. (2012)^[1]
• Terence Flynn an appointee of Barack Obama to the National Labor Relations Board resigned in May 2012 after being accused of serious ethical violations by leaking information to the National Association of Manufacturers.^[2]
• Martha N. Johnson head of the General Services Administration fired two top GSA officials and then resigned herself after it was revealed that $822,000 had been spent in Las Vegas on a four-day training conference for 300 GSA employees.(2010)^[3][4][5][6]

[edit]Legislative Branch

• Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-IL) pleaded guilty to one felony fraud count for using $750,000 of campaign money to buy items like stuffed animals, elk heads and fur capes. His wife, Sandi Jackson, who is a Chicago Alderman, pleaded guilty to filing false income tax statements at the same time. ^[7]

• Laura Richardson (D-CA) was found guilty on seven counts of violating House rules by improperly pressuring her staff to campaign for her, destroying evidence and tampering with witness testimony. The Committee ordered Richardson to pay a fine of $10,000. (2012)^[8][9]

• John Ensign (R-NV) resigned his Senate seat on May 3, 2011, before the Senate Ethics Committee could examine possible fiscal violations in connection with his extramarital affair with Cynthia Hampton. (2011)^{[10][11][12][13]} (see Federal sex scandals) In May 2012, aide Doug Hampton (R) in what became the John Ensign scandal reached a plea deal with prosecutors, the details of which have not yet been released.^[14]
• Tom DeLay (R-TX) On November 24, 2010, a Texas jury convicted DeLay of money laundering connected to the Jack Abramoff scandal. (2010)^[15][16] On January 10, 2011, he was sentenced to three years in prison in Texas.^[17][18]

[edit]Judicial Branch

• G. Thomas Porteous The Federal Judge for Eastern Louisiana was unanimously impeached by the US House of Representatives on charges of corruption and perjury in March 2010. He was convicted by the US Senate and removed from office. He had been appointed by Bill Clinton. (2010)^[19][20][21]
• Samuel B. Kent The Federal District Judge of Galveston, Texas, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for lying about sexually harassing two female employees. He had been appointed to office by George H. W. Bush in 1990. (2009)^[22][23]  to have been awarded a Silver Star and feigned paraplegia.^{[287] MOREHERE}