Thoughts from the Middle
Corruption in the Federal Executive Branch
By
Robert Fischer
While no one should be surprised to find out that criminal actions are sometime committed by people in power, I was shocked to note the disparity among the criminal indictments under various presidents Nixon through Trump. While I was prepared for the Watergate fallout under Nixon, I was more than shocked to see the large number of criminal charges (21) that have occurred in less than 2 years of the Trump presidency. The following Table has appeared in a number of sources over the past year, updated for the Trump presidency.
Executive Branch Criminal Activities
By Presidential Administration
Years in Indictments Convictions Prison
Office_____________________________________
Trump 1.8 89 24 2
Obama 8 0 0 0
Bush, W 8 16 16 9
Clinton 8 2 1 1
Bush, GW 4 1 1 1
Reagan 8 26 16 8
Carter 4 1 0 0
Ford 2.4 1 1 1
Since I couldn’t find the actual source for this research in order to validate the numbers, I have included my own tabulation of charges filed against executive administration personnel. This information was gleaned from Wikipedia and recent news sources.
Since January 2017, 21 persons associated with Donald Trump’s Executive Branch have been indicted or accused of various criminal activities– not the 89 figure listed in the above table. This discrepancy may be accounted for by including indictments of Russians who have been accused of interfering with the 2016 elections. However, the 21 person figure is still striking since it represents less than 1.8 years.
Person Position Charges Conviction
Paul Manafort Champaign Chairman bank fraud, filing false tax returns yes
Scott Pruitt Director EPA ethics violations resigned
Albert Kelly Director EPA Superfund bank fraud fined
Pasquale Perrotta Security Director EPA improper contracts resigned
Samantha Dravis Sr. Counsel Off. Policy no show employee resigned
George Papadopoulos Foreign Policy Advisor making false statements pleaded guilty
Michael Flynn National Sec. Advisor lying to the FBI pleaded guilty
William Bradford Dept. of Energy allegations of racial slurs resigned
Tom Price Sec. HHS improper spending resigned
Brenda Fitzgerald Dir. Disease Control bought tobacco stock resigned
Taylor Weyeneth Dep.Dir. Nat. Drug Policy lack of qualifications resigned
David Sorenson speech writer domestic violence resigned
Vivieca Simpson Chief of Staff VA altered emails resigned
Rob Porter staff secretary domestic violence resigned
Rick Gates Dept. Campaign Chair lying to investigators re Ukraine pleaded guilty
Tony Tooke Chief, Forest Service sexual harassment/retaliation resigned
Michael Cohen Attorney to President tax evasion, bank fraud,
illegal campaign contributions,
false statements pleaded guilty
Ralph Zinke Sec. Interior improper spending resigned
Konstantin Kilimnik Aid to Manafort lying/bribery indicted
Alex Vanderzwan Dutch Attorney lying indicted
Richard Pinerdo owner Auct. Essistance fraud pleaded guilty
Under Barrack Obama, nine people were accused of improper behavior:
Deann Stone Dir Alabama Dept Ed improper spending convicted
Katherine Archuleta Dir Personnel Mang. cyber intrusions, data theft resigned
Hilary Clinton Sec. of State email controversy no charges
Eric Shinseki Sec. Veteran’s Affairs lies re time to treatment resigned
Steven Miller Acting Comm. IRS IRS scandal re investigations resigned
Eric Holder Attorney General contempt of Congress no charges
Terence Flynn NLR Board member leaking information resigned
Martha Johnson Dir. GSA Vegas training scandal resigned
David Petraeus Dir. CIA mishandling classified material pleaded guilty
During George W. Bush’s administration, 25 individuals were involved in questionable behavior
Joseph Schmitz DD Inspector Gen. obstruction of justice resigned
Francis Harvey Sec. Army Walter Reed scandal resigned
Felipe Sixto Duty Dir. Public Liaison misuse of grant dollars resigned
Timothy Goeglein Asst. to President plagiarism resigned
Scott Bloch Special Counsel criminal contempt of Congress pleaded guilty
Lewis Libby Chief of Staff Cheney perjury/obstruction of justice convicted
Alphonso Jackson Sec. HUD cronyism/favoritism resigned
Karl Rove Sr. Advisor Pres. Improper political influence resigned
Richard Griffin Asst. Sec. Dip. Sec. failure to supervise private contractors resigned
Howard Krongard Insp. Gen. State Dept. interfering with investigations resigned
Lurita Doan Admin GSO political activity at work resigned
- Steven Griles Dep. Sec. Interior obstruction of justice found guilty
Philip Cooney Chair Coun. Env. Qual. editing govt. reports resigned
Jack Abramoff Lobbyist w/ ties to White House found guilty
Kyle Foggo Dir. CIA services fraud pleaded guilty
Julie Mac Donald Dept Asst. Sec. Inter. providing govt. document to dev. Resigned
Claude Allen Advisor to Pres. felony theft found guilty
Lester Crawford Comm. FDA conflict of interest resigned
John Shaw Under Sec. Defense corruption fired
Bernard Kerik nominee Homeland Sec. employment illegal alien/tax fraud pleaded guilty
Thomas Scully Admin CMS withholding information resigned
Janet Rehnquist Inspect. Gen. HHS delay of investigation resigned
Carl Truscott Dir. ATF lavish spending/misuse of resources resigned
John Atchison Asst. U.S. Attorney sex with juvenile suicide
John Farren Dep. WH counsel attempted murder found guilty
In addition, during the George W. Bush years, citizens saw the Walter Reed Medical Center scandal, Lawyergate, Bush White House email controversy, WMD/Yellowcake forgery; Coalition Provisional Authority Cash Payment Scandal; Valerie Flame affair; NSA warrantless surveillance; and John Yoo memo scandal.
During Bill Clinton’s time in office, there were 4 persons in the executive branch accused of criminal behavior:
Bill Clinton President impeached for perjury/obstruction acquitted
Ronald Blackley Chief of Staff Agricul. perjury found guilty
David Watkins Dir. Office Admin. improper use of govt. equipment resigned
Darleen Druyun Undersec. Air Force contract violations found guilty
Under George H.W. Bush there were 6 allegations of misconduct. The most significant dealt with the Iran-Contra affair where 6 individuals under investigation were granted clemency. One additional person was convicted:
Catalina Villalpando Sec. Treasurer obstruction of justice/tax evasion pleaded guilty
Ronald Reagan’s administration was the subject of a number of investigations, including the Iran-Contra affair, Operation Ill Wind, the Housing and Urban Development scandal, Wedtech, and the saving and loan scandal. Thirty seven individuals were accused of various crimes or misconduct.
Melvyn Paisley Asst. Sec. Navy accepting bribes pleaded guilty
James Gaines Dep. Asst. Sec. Navy theft resigned
Victor Cohen Dep. Asst. Sec. Air Force accepting bribes pleaded guilty
Samuel Pierce Sec. HUD bribery not charged
James Watt Sec. Interior perjury/obstruction of justice found guilty
Deborah Dean Exec. Sec. S. Pierce perjury/conspiracy/bribery found guilty
Philip Winn Asst. Sec. HUD bribery pleaded guilty
Thomas Demery Asst. Sec. HUD bribery/obstruction of justice pleaded guilty
Joseph Strauss Spec. Asst. Sec. HUD bribery found guilty
Silvio DeBartolomeis various posts HUD perjury/bribery found guilty
Edwin Meese Attorney General bribery resigned
John Fedders Sec. Exchange Comm. battery of wife resigned
Emanuel Savas Asst. Sec. HUD using staff for personal business resigned
Oliver North National Sec. Council diverted funds found guilty
Casper Weinberger Sec. Defense perjury/obstruction of justice pardoned
Robert McFarlane National Sec. Advisor withholding evidence plea bargained
Elliott Abrams Asst. Sec. State withholding evidence plea bargained
Alan Fiers Chief CIA withholding evidence found guilty
Clair George Covert Ops CIA perjury found guilty
Fawn Hill O. North’s Sec. conspiracy/destroying documents immunity
John Poindexter National Sec. Advisor conspiracy/obstruction of justice found guilty overturned by Supreme Court
Duane Clarridge CIA perjury pardoned
Richard Secord Major Gen. Air Force false statements pleaded guilty
Albert Hakim Businessman supplement O North’s salary pleaded guilty
Michael Deaver Dep Chief of Staff Pres. perjury pleaded guilty
Anne Gorsuch EPA Chief contempt of Congress resigned
Rita Lavelle EPA Administrator misuse of funds/perjury found guilty
Louis Giuffrida Dir. Emerg. Mang. fraud, waste resigned
Fred Villella Dep Dir. Emerg. Mang. fraud, waste, sexual assault resigned
- Lynn Helms Dir. FAA fraud settled, resigned
Bob Nimmo Chief Veterans Admin. fraud resigned
Peter Voss US Postal service theft/accepting payoffs pleaded guilty
Carlos Campbell Asst. Sec. Comm. fraud
Jim Petro US Attorney tipping off witness fired
William Kennedy US Attorney smuggling fired
Marjory Mecidenburg Dep. Asst. HHR improper use of funds resigned
Guy Fiske Dep. Sec. Comm. conflict of interest resigned
Jimmy Carter
There were no resignations, indictments, or allegations of misconduct during the four years of President Carter’s administration.
Gerald Ford
Earl Butz Sec. of Agriculture racial slurs resigned
There are several conclusions that can be made from the above. I’ll leave you, the reader, to make draw your own.
Thoughts from the Middle by Robert J. Fischer 