public uproar. While some might think of some be-
haviors as scandalous or shocking, however, others
view the same behavior as normal or at least not mor-
ally reprehensible. For instance, some might view
engaging in prostitution as grounds to fire a mem-
ber of Congress, while others might shrug their
shoulders. Thus, scandals, which generally center
on politics, show business, corporations, academia,
and sports, remain arbitrary. Although numerous
scandals center on heinous events at the local level,
only widely publicized major scandals are presented
here.
During the final decade of the twentieth century,
scandal ran rampant. Layers of political and nonpo-
litical scandals involved Congress, the Supreme
Court, the president of the United States, the mili-
tary, and famous sports figure O. J. Simpson.
Political Scandals Scandals are categorized as po-
litical when public officials are involved. As repre-
sentatives of the people, political figures are held to
high moral standards and are very often forced to
leave office when their less-than-stellar behavior be-
comes public. The 1990’s was rife with political
scandals that involved finances. In addition, the
Supreme Court became deeply involved in the
Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill sexual harassment
scandal, while President Bill Clinton and his wife
Hillary provided decade-long fodder for the scandal
machine.
The 1990’s began and ended with political scan-
dals involving finances. During the first year of the
decade, Minnesota senator David Durenberger was
unanimously denounced by the Senate for the mis-
use of public funds and was ultimately disbarred and
sentenced to probation. The following year, Wash-
ington insider and Lyndon B. Johnson’s former de-
fense secretary Clark Clifford was implicated in the
Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI)
scandal. BCCI, the parent company of First Ameri-
can Bankshares of which Clifford was chairman, was
charged with involvement in money laundering,
bribery, terrorism, arms trafficking, and the sale of
nuclear technology. Clifford had earned $6 million
from an unsecured loan from BCCI.
In 1992, the House banking scandal exposed the
fact that members of Congress could, and did, over-
draw their checking accounts without penalty. In
all, more than 450 representatives were named, with
22 members of Congress made to answer to the
House Ethics Committee for allowing overdrafts of
at least eight months. Ultimately, four former mem-
bers of Congress, a delegate, and the former House
sergeant-at-arms were convicted of wrongdoing in-
volving bribery, conspiracy, and campaign finance
irregularities.
In 1994, Dan Rostenkowski, chair of the House
Ways and Means Committee, was named a key player
in the congressional post office scandal, which in-
volved a conspiracy to launder post office money
through stamps and vouchers. He was indicted on
corruption charges, lost his seat, and ultimately
spent fifteen months in prison. In 1997, Speaker of
the House Newt Gingrich was involved in a financial
scandal that led to a House reprimand and a
$300,000 fine. The following year, Vice President Al
Gore was accused of improper fund-raising.
In 1991, University of Oklahoma law school pro-
fessor Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual
harassment shortly after his Supreme Court nomi-
nation. Hill, who used to work for Thomas at the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, main-
tained that while she was in his employ the nominee
made several crude remarks of a sexual nature to
her. During the televised Senate confirmation hear-
ings, Hill was called to testify to a large national audi-
ence. Angela Wright, another former employee of
Thomas, made similar accusations, and others
backed up Hill’s testimony. Thomas fought back, de-
nying all allegations of sexual impropriety and com-
paring the treatment that he had received during
the nomination hearings to a lynching; Thomas,
Hill, and Wright are all African Americans. The Sen-
ate Judiciary Committee forwarded the nomination
to the Senate, which confirmed Thomas, who went
on to become the 106th associate justice of the Su-
preme Court.The Clinton Scandals Popularly known as Travel-
gate, the first Clinton administration scandal began
in 1993. After seven employees of the White House
Travel Office were fired after being accused of finan-
cial improprieties, the FBI began an investigation.
Accusations were made that the Clintons wanted
friends to benefit from White House travel. First
Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was found to have
made false statements but was never prosecuted.
In 1996, Filegate followed. This scandal centered
on the improper White House inspection of be-
tween 400 and 700 security-clearance documentsThe Nineties in America Scandals 745