5/30: Corruption In your opinion, how can confidence in government be increased? What can the government do to make itself more transparent and open to the American people? Can illegal activity in government ever fully be prevented?

Warren G. Harding was elected president in 1920 Rather than struggle to master the complexities of the job, Harding trusted others to make decisions

Many were his close friends, men he enjoyed relaxing and gambling with at late-night poker games Known as the Ohio Gang, they were not hones public servants They were mostly greedy, small-minded men who saw government service as a chance to get rich at the expense of the very citizens they were supposed to serve

Charles Forbes, head of the Veterans’ Bureau, wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars For example, his department bought $70,000 dollars worth of floor cleaner – enough to last 100 years – at more than 24 times the fair price Another Harding pal, Attorney General Harry Daugherty, used his position to accept money from criminals

The Teapot Dome Scandal Explodes In 1921, Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall arranged to transfer oil reserves in Elk Hills, California, and Teapot Dome, Wyoming, from the Navy Department to the Interior Department The oil reserves were intended for the navy’s use in time of emergency Harding signed the transfer

Once Fall had control of the oil, he forgot about the needs of the navy He leased the properties to private oilmen in return for “loans” – which were actually bribes

Rumors of the deal led to a Senate investigation, and, by 1924, the entire situation was revealed by the public Later, the oil reserves were returned to the government Fall was sentenced to a year in prison

Although Harding was never prosecuted for the scandal, it is thought that he had some knowledge of what was going on He later died of a heart attack in 1923, while still in the presidency

Flash Forward… 1972: President Nixon is re-elected president, amidst great fanfare Little did he know that his downfall was already in motion…

June 1972 Five men linked to President Nixon’s reelection campaign are arrested for trying to bug the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.

April 1973 Nixon denies knowledge of the Watergate break-in or any coverup

May 1973 Archibald Cox is named as the Justice Department’s special prosecutor for Watergate The Senate Watergate Committee begins nationally televised hearings

June 1973 Former White House counsel John Dean tells investigators that Nixon authorized a coverup

July 1973 Nixon, claiming executive privilege, refuses to release the tapes of secretly recorded Oval Office conversations

October 1973 Nixon offers investigators summaries of tapes, which Special Prosecutor Cox refuses Nixon fires Cox This triggers other firings and resignations in what becomes known as the Saturday Night Massacre

March 1974 Former Nixon administration officials are indicted on charges of conspiracy in the Watergate break-in Richard Nixon is named as an “unindicted co-conspirator”

July 1974 The Supreme Court rules unanimously that Nixon must surrender all of the White House recordings requested by the new special prosecutor The House Judiciary Committee recommends impeachment

August 1974 Transcripts of tapes show that Nixon ordered a coverup of the Watergate break-in On August 9, Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to resign

While Watergate damaged the public’s trust of government officials, the U.S. government’s system of checks and balances withstood the crisis

Lawmakers passed laws to prevent similar abuses The role of the press in bringing the scandal to light reminded the public of the importance of a free press in a democratic society

Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments (1974) Set limit on campaign contributions, provided partial federal funding for presidential campaigns, created the Federal Election Commission to enforce these laws

Freedom of Information Act Amendments (1974) Penalized government officials who withheld documents illegally

Government in the Sunshine Act (1976) Opened meetings of many government agencies to the public By 1977, all states had passed sunshine laws

Ethics of Government Act in 1978 Required financial disclosure forms from public officials, restricted government officials’ ability to lobby, created the office of special prosecutor