Political scandal

A political scandal is a scandal in which politicians engage in various illegal or unethical practices. A political scandal can involve the breaking of the nation's laws, including the rules of the constitution or creating a plot or conspiracy to do so. Sex scandals often occur within the ranks of politicians, but these are different than political scandals as they rarely directly affect political operation.

Since the infamous American Watergate scandal of 1973, it has become fashionable to create names for polticial scandals by adding the suffix "gate" to an adjective or noun that realates to the scandal. For example, a scandal involving a casino could be dubbed "Casinogate," a scandal involving a murder could be called "Murdergate" and so forth.

Famous Political Scandals

Below are some accused scandals, all debated. Some say that some of these don't count as actual scandals while others allege some of these events flat out didn't occur.

• Pacific scandal in which Canada's Prime Minister John A. MacDonald recieved bribes in exchange for an ambitious railroad project.
• Teapot Dome Scandal in which Naval oil reserve fields were given to private companies during Warren G. Harding's administration.
• Watergate Scandal in which American President Richard Nixon and his aides engaged in an elaborate plot to spy on political opponents.
• Iran-Contra Affair in which the administration of American President Ronald Reagan illegally defied congress by selling weapons to an enemy nation.
• Bill Clinton's (nameless) sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky, and the following perjury.
• The Profumo Affair, (1963) British sex scandal that directly led to the resignation of Secretary of State John Profumo, and indirectly Prime Minister Harold MacMillan[?].

See also: Scandal, American political scandals, British political scandals