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Encyclopedia > Reagan administration scandals
Lt-Col. Oliver North, testifying before Congress
Lt-Col. Oliver North, testifying before Congress

The Reagan administration saw several controversies unfold in their ranks which resulted in a number of administration staffers being convicted. The most well known, the Iran-Contra affair, involved a plan whereby weapons were sold to Iran and the profits diverted to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... Lieutenant Colonel (Lieutenant-Colonel in British English from the French grades spelling) is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine corps and air forces of the world, typically ranking above a Major and below a Colonel. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Matter and Iran-gate) was one of the largest political scandals in the United States during the 1980s. ... The Contras (from the Spanish term La Contra, short for movement of the contrarrevolucionarios) were the armed opponents of Nicaraguas Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (which ended the Somoza dynasty), and continuing throughout the following decade. ...


Several other controversies also occurred in the Reagan administration; one involved Department of Housing secretary Samuel Pierce and his associates. Wealthy contributors to the administration's campaign were rewarded with funding for low income housing development without the customary background checks, and lobbyists, such as former EPA head James G. Watt, were rewarded with huge lobbying fees for assisting campaign contributors with receiving government loans and guarantees. Six administration staffers were convicted. President Reagan, with his Cabinet and staff, in the Oval Office (February 4, 1981) Headed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, the Reagan Administration was conservative, steadfastly anti-Communist and in favor of tax cuts and smaller government. ... The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, often abbreviated HUD, is a Cabinet department of the United States government. ... Samuel Riley Silent Sam Pierce, Jr. ... James Gaius Watt (born January 31, 1938 in Lusk, Wyoming) served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. ...


Also involving the EPA: funds from the Superfund to clean up toxic waste sites were being released to enhance the election prospects of local politicians aligned with the administration. EPA redirects here. ... Checking the status of a cleanup site Superfund is the common name for the United States environmental law that is officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601 to 9675, which was enacted by the United States Congress on December 11...

Contents

Iran-Contra Affair

Main article: Iran Contra Affair

In the Iran-Contra Affair, several administration staffers were convicted of crimes ranging from lying to Congress to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. The scandal involved the administration selling arms to the radical Islamic regime in Iran and using proceeds from the sales to illegally fund the Contras, a guerrilla group in Nicaragua. In the Iran-Contra Affair, United States President Ronald Reagans administration secretly sold arms to Iran, which was engaged in a bloody war with its neighbor Iraq from 1980 to 1988 (see Iran-Iraq War), and diverted the proceeds to the Contra rebels fighting to overthrow the leftist and... The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Matter and Iran-gate) was one of the largest political scandals in the United States during the 1980s. ... The arms industry is a massive global industry. ... The Contras (from the Spanish term La Contra, short for movement of the contrarrevolucionarios) were the armed opponents of Nicaraguas Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (which ended the Somoza dynasty), and continuing throughout the following decade. ...

  1. Elliott Abrams
    Elliot Abrams
    Elliot Abrams
    agreed to cooperate with investigators and in return was indicted and plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges. He was sentenced to two years probation and one hundred hours of community service. He was pardoned by George H.W. Bush on December 24, 1992 along with five other former Reagan Administration officials who had been implicated in connection with Iran-Contra. [1]
  2. National Security Advisor Robert C. McFarlane, pled 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.[2] He was pardoned by Bush.
  3. Alan D. Fiers was the Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Central American Task Force. He pled 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 pardoned by Bush.[3][4]
  4. Richard R. Miller - Partner with Oliver North in IBC, an Office of Public Diplomacy front group, convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States.[5][6]
  5. Clair George was Chief of the CIA's Division of Covert Operations under President Reagan. George was convicted of lying to two congressional committees in 1986. He was pardoned by Bush. [7][8][9]
  6. Richard Secord was indicted on nine felony counts of lying to Congress and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of lying to Congress.[10][11]
  7. Thomas G. Clineswas convicted of four counts of tax-related offenses for failing to report income from the Iran/Contra operations.[12][13]
  8. 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[14][15]
  9. John Poindexter, 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.)[16][17]
  10. Oliver North 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.[18][19]

Elliot Abrams Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American lawyer who has served in foreign policy positions for a number of U.S. Presidents, most recently George W. Bush. ... Elliot Abrams, US deputy national security adviser Source: http://www. ... Elliot Abrams, US deputy national security adviser Source: http://www. ... Order: 41st President Vice President: Dan Quayle Term of office: January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 Preceded by: Ronald Reagan Succeeded by: Bill Clinton Date of birth: June 12, 1924 Place of birth: Milton, Massachusetts First Lady: Barbara Pierce Bush Political party: Republican George Herbert Walker Bush, KBE (born... Robert Carl Bud McFarlane (born 1937), was a U.S. Marine Corps officer assigned to the post of United States National Security Advisor in 1983, ceasing to hold it in 1985. ... Alan D. Fiers, Jr, was President Ronald Reagans Chief of the Central Intelligence Agencys Central American Task Force. ... Clair E. George was President Ronald Reagans Chief of the Central Intelligence Agencys Division of Covert Operations. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired, was a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal. ... Thomas G. Clines was a Central Intelligence Agency covert operations agent that was convicted for his involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair. ... Rear Admiral John Poindexter (Ret. ... Lt-Col. ...

Department of Housing and Urban Development grant rigging

The HUD controversy involved administration staffers granting federal funding to constituents, and defrauding the US government out of money intended for low income housing. Judge Arlin Adamns obtained the following convictions: The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, often abbreviated HUD, is a Cabinet department of the United States government. ...

  1. James Watt, Reagan's Secretary of the Interior was indicted on 24 felony counts and pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor. He was sentenced to five years probation, and order to pay a $5000 fine.[20]
  2. Philip Winn - Assistant HUD Secretary. Pleaded guilty to one count of scheming to give illegal gratuities.[21]
  3. Thomas Demery - Assistant HUD Secretary - pleaded guilty to steering HUD subsidies to politically connected donors.[22]
  4. Deborah Gore Dean - executive assistant to Samuel 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 accounts. She appealed and prevailed on several accounts but the convictions for conspiracy remained.
  5. Catalina Villaponda - Former US Treasurer, HUD[23]
  6. Joseph A. Strauss - Accepting kickbacks[24]

Image File history File links James_g_watt. ... Image File history File links James_g_watt. ... James Watt James Watt (19 January 1736 – 19 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor and engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. ... James Gaius Watt (born January 31, 1938 in Lusk, Wyoming) served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. ... Thomas T. Demery (July 18, 1949-) was the Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during the Reagan presidency. ... Deborah Gore Dean is a former United States federal employee, convicted in the infamous HUD scandal during the Ronald Reagan presidency. ... Samuel Riley Silent Sam Pierce, Jr. ...

Lobbying Scandal

When an administration staff member leaves office, federal law governs how quickly one can begin a lobbying career.

  • Michael Deaver, 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 one hundred thousand dollars after being convicted for lying to a congressional subcommittee.[25]
  • Lyn Nofziger—White House Press Secretary - Convicted on charges of illegal lobbying after leaving government service in Wedtech scandal. His conviction was later overturned.[26]

Michael Keith Deaver (April 11, 1938-) was United States President Ronald Reagans Deputy White House Chief of Staff from January 1981 until May 1985. ... Franklyn C. Lyn Nofziger (8 June 1924 – 27 March 2006) was an American journalist, political consultant and author. ...

EPA controversy

The Environmental Protection Agency Scandal arose when it was discovered that the administration was releasing Superfund grants for cleaning up local toxic waste sites to enhance the election prospects of local officials aligned with the Republican Party. EPA redirects here. ... Checking the status of a cleanup site Superfund is the common name for the United States environmental law that is officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601 to 9675, which was enacted by the United States Congress on December 11... GOP redirects here. ...

  1. Rita Lavelle was convicted of lying to Congress and served three months of a six-month prison sentence.[27]

Rita M. Lavelle (1948?-) is a United States and California State political figure. ...

Savings & Loan Bailout

His "elimination of loopholes" in the tax code included the elimination of the "passive loss" provisions that subsidized rental housing. Because this was removed retroactively it bankrupted many real estate developments made with this tax break as a premise. This with some other "deregulation" policies (ratified by a Democratic congress) ultimately led to the largest political and financial scandal in U.S. history: The Savings and Loan crisis. In the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code. ... The Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s was a wave of savings and loan association failures in the United States in which over 1,000 savings and loan institutions failed. ...


An indication of this scandal's size: "The theft from the taxpayer by the community that fattened on the growth of the savings and loan (S&L) industry in the 1980's 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." [28] Teapot Dome is the commonly used name applied to the scandal that rocked the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding. ... Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 - August 2, 1923) was the 29th (1921-1923) President of the United States and the sixth President to die in office. ... The Crédit Mobilier of America scandal of 1872 involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company. ... Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American general and politician who was elected as the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ...


See also

The Iran-Contra Affair (also called the Iran-Contra Matter and Iran-gate) was one of the largest political scandals in the United States during the 1980s. ... This article provides a list of major political scandals of the United States. ... The Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s was a wave of savings and loan association failures in the United States in which over 1,000 savings and loan institutions failed. ...

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  2. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  3. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_15.htm
  4. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  5. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_13.htm
  6. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  7. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_15.htm
  8. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_17.htm
  9. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  10. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_09.htm
  11. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  12. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_11.htm
  13. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  14. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_13.htm
  15. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  16. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_03.htm
  17. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  18. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_01.htm
  19. ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
  20. ^ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec99/hud_7-1.html
  21. ^ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec99/hud_7-1.html
  22. ^ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec99/hud_7-1.html
  23. ^ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec99/hud_7-1.html
  24. ^ http://www.nlihc.org/mtm/mtm3-40.htm
  25. ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/timeline/index_5.html
  26. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3752008.html
  27. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E3D8143BF93AA25752C0A963948260
  28. ^ The Greatest-Ever Bank Robbery: The Collapse of the Savings and Loan Industry by Martin Mayer (Scribner's)

 

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