Jack Abramoff (b. February 28, 1959) was one of the most successful lobbyists on Capitol Hill, and apparently one of the most corrupt. After a lengthy and complicated investigation, Abramoff entered a plea of guilty in 2006 to charges of tax evasion, mail fraud and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a Florida casino deal. Officials say Abramoff overcharged millions of dollars for lobbying…more»
Former CIA agent Aldrich Ames (b. May 26, 1941) was convicted in 1994 of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia. According to the government, he and his Colombian-born wife Rosario received more than $2.7 million for selling American intelligence information to the Soviets for almost a decade, beginning in 1985. Ames betrayed dozens of covert CIA operations and divulged the identities of 30…more»
Alfred S. Bloomingdale (b. April 15, 1916; d. August 23, 1982) was the grandson of Lyman Bloomindale, co-founder of Bloomingdale’s department store. Apart from being the heir to a very successful business, Bloomingdale became well-known for several reasons, both during his life and after his death. He was a Broadway actor, a financier and helped found the Diners Club. He was a close friend…more»
John Edwards (b. June 10, 1953) launched his political career with great hopes for the future, hopes that included the presidency. He earned his law degree in 1977 and worked as a trial attorney, where he made much of his fortune. He served as a United States Senator from North Carolina from 1999 to 2005. He primarily focused on social issues like health care,…more»
Charles J. Guiteau (b. September 8, 1841; d. June 30, 1882) was the eccentric egotistical assassin who killed President James Garfield on Jul 2, 1881 at the Sixth Street train station in Washington DC. A lifelong failure, Guiteau tried to enter politics by writing a speech which he claimed was the reason for Garfield's victory in the 1880 election. Guiteau then sought an ambassadorship…more»
Robert Hanssen (b. April 18, 1944) is a former FBI agent who sold U.S. intelligence to the Soviets and Russians over a 22-year period for a reported $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. The U.S. Justice Department has described Hanssen's spying activities as one of the worst intelligence disasters in U.S. history. In a 2001 plea bargain that allowed him to escape the death…more»
Gary Hart (b. November 28, 1936) was a democratic U.S. Senator from Colorado who made unsuccessful bids for the presidency in 1984 and 1988. Before the second go-round, rumors began surfacing that he was having an extramarital affair with model Donna Rice. At first he denied it, and challenged the media to follow him. After a photograph surfaced of him and Rice on a…more»
Mary Jo Kopechne (b. July 26, 1940; d. July 18, 1969) was from a small city in Pennsylvania. She moved to DC in the early 1960s. In 1964, she became Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s secretary. She was an important asset to the office and forged a strong relationship with Kennedy. She helped him pen his announcement of presidential candidacy in 1968. Bobby Kennedy’s death…more»
Monica Lewinsky (b. July 23, 1973) is easily the most famous White House intern ever. Lewinsky held a number of administrative government positions, but it was her sexual exploits that made her famous. In 1997, secretly recorded conversations revealed she had an affair with then President Bill Clinton. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for trying to hide the scandal. He was…more»
Scooter Libby (b. August 22, 1950) is a former presidential advisor. Libby was the target of an investigation that reached into the highest levels of the Bush Administration. In 2007, Libby was convicted on felony charges of lying and obstructing justice in a federal investigation into the leaked identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson to the press. Libby was fined $250,000 and sentenced…more»
Richard Nixon (b. January 9, 1913; d. April 22, 1994) was the 37 th President and 36 th Vice President of the United States. While President, from 1969 to 1974, he was credited with both escalating and ending US involvement in the Vietnam War, creating a more robust federal environmental program, and ending the draft. The US also saw the…more»
Bob Packwood (b. September 11, 1932) was a US senator from Oregon for 26 years. He was a member of the Republican Party but voiced support for both conservative and liberal issues, including the legalization of abortion and stricter gun laws. He was also the first Republican senator to support the impeachment of Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Packwood’s political career, however, ended in…more»
Kenneth Starr (b. July 21, 1946) was the special prosecutor who led the Whitewater investigation during the Clinton Administration. The investigation centered on the Clinton's Whitewater real estate investments and the death of White House counsel Vince Foster and whether it was a suicide or a murder cover-up. The Whitewater investigation led to many others, including President Clinton's extramarital affair with White House intern…more»
Dominque Strauss-Kahn (b. April 25, 1949) is a French Socialist Party politician who became the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2007. He is known for his political savvy, firm grasp of economics and finance, and womanizing. He was once poised to take on France’s Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency, but his trajectory changed drastically in 2011. He was accused of sexually…more»
Mary Surratt (b. 1823; d. July 7, 1865) was one of several conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Her husband, landowner John Surratt, whom she married at age 17, built a tavern and post office in Prince George’s County in Maryland. The property became known as Surrattsville. The couple had three children, one of whom was a Confederate secret agent during the…more»
Bob Woodward (b. March 26, 1943) is an investigative journalist who became famous when he and fellow reporter Carl Bernstein teamed up to report on the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post in 1972. Investigations into their revelations led to President Nixon’s eventual resignation in 1974. Since breaking that story, Woodward has continued to work for The Washington Post as a reporter and associate…more»