I have seen in some places Reagan's admin being the most convicted/indicted/corruption probed, others have heard Clinton- of course, Nixon comes to my mind- this is what one guy on another forum posted:

Reagan's watch, including those cases continued from Carter's administration.

1979-1980 Arthur Christy White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan for cocaine use No indictments
1980-1981 Gerald Gallinghouse Timothy Kraft, a White House aide to President Jimmy Carter, for cocaine use No indictments
1981-1982 Leon Silverman Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan for illegal ties to organized crime No indictments
1984 Jacob Stein Edwin Meese, attorney general designate for financial improprieties No indictments
1986-1989 Alexia Morrison Assistant Attorney General Theodore Olson for obstruction of justice; Lying to Congress during Superfund investigation No indictments
1986-1989 Whitney North Seymour Michael Deaver, White House deputy chief of staff, for illegal lobbying for foreign client Perjury conviction
1986-1994 Lawrence Walsh Oliver North, Caspar Weinberger and other Reagan Administration officials for involvement in the Iran-Contra affair; Obstruction of justice, lying to Congress, and destroying documents 14 convictions (two overturned)
1986-1987 James Harper Assistant Attorney General Lawrence Wallace for personal tax irregularities No indictments
1987-1990 James McKay Ed Meese and White House aide Lyn Nozfiger for illegal lobbying Meese acquitted, Nozfiger convicted (later overturned)


TOTAL 14 :Robert McFarlane guilty of withholding information to Congress;Lt. Col. Oliver North convicted on three criminal counts, fined, suspended sentence;John Poindexter convicted on five criminal counts;Caspar Weinberger, indicted on five counts for lying to Congress;Elliott Abrams, assistant secretary of state, guilty of withholding information

Bill Clinton's watch:

1996 Arlin Adams; (replaced by Larry Thompson) Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) Secretary Samuel Pierce for financial impropriety related to HUD funds, perjury, and obstructing justice 16 convictions
1991-1992 Under Seal Under Seal No
1992-1995 Joseph diGenova Clinton Administration Passport file search; Violation of PrivacyAct
No indictments
1994-present Donald Smaltz Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy for acceptance of illegal gifts Six convictions, four acquittals
1994-present Robert Fiske; (replaced by Kenneth Starr; replaced by Robert Ray) President Bill Clinton and associates for financial improprieties related to Whitewater land deal and the Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan 12 convictions, two acquittals, three outstanding indictments; Impeachment of President (acquitted by Senate)
1995-present David Barrett HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros for lying to Congress Yes
1995-1996 Daniel Pearson Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown for financial improprieties of No indictments; Investigation terminated after Brown's death
1996-1997 Curtis Von Kann Americorps Chief, Eli Segal for conflict of interest No indictments
1998-present Carol Bruce Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt for lying to Congress No
1998-present Ralph Lancaster Labor Secretary Alexis Herman for influence peddling No


TOTAL: 38 (Drug trafficking (3), racketeering, extortion, bribery (4), tax evasion, kickbacks, embezzlement (2), fraud (12), conspiracy (5), fraudulent loans, illegal gifts (1), illegal campaign contributions (5), money laundering (6), perjury, obstruction of justice




BY COMPARISON: Nixon: 176 indictments; 27 convictions

And the grandaddy of them all: US Grant.

Although President Grant was personally honest, and has been underrated by historians, the corrupt and criminal Republicans around him came to define the sordid Gilded Age.

There was the Whiskey Ring, a conspiracy involving high federal officials to defraud the government of duties on whiskey. Among those involved: Grant's personal secretary, Oliver Babcock. Broken up in May 1875, the Ring yielded 238 indictments, the most ever in a federal corruption scandal, more than half of which led to convictions -- though (in part thanks to Grant's intercession) Babcock was acquitted.
There was also the Credit Mobilier of America scandal, involving insider trading and bribery of elected officials with railroad stock. Among those involved: Vice President Schuyler Colfax, Representative (and future President) James A. Garfield, and (the chief inside promoter) Massachusetts congressman Oakes Ames. The House eventually condemned Ames, considered impeaching Colfax, and published a list of names of all congressmen involved with Ames in the scheme.

And, of course, the Belknap scandal, when Secretary of War William Belknap was forced to resign from office in order to avoid impeachment over accepting bribes for the rights to sell supplies to Indian tribes.

And the Sanborn scandal, involving an irregular tax collection scheme in which Treas. Sec. William Richardson came under heavy fire, and eventually stepped down after the House Ways and Means Committee declared he deserved "severe condemnation."


440 indictments, 210 convictions!

These are not copyrighted materials- just compiled stuff from other sites- for instance- it says Clinton had "drug trafficking" 3 convictions- who were these on?


So which was it post 1900- who was the most crooked, the most caught, and what is your definition of above?

I'd love to see where you got all that about Clinton.

I'd say Nixon was worse due to the nature of the crimes he committed. And for the record, I believe the impeachment of Clinton stemmed not from Whitewater but from Paula Jones. Either way, his impeachment was fraudulent anyway, because he lied about Monica Lewinsky, unrelated to either Whitewater or Paula Jones.

Nixon used the CIA and FBI to undermine the election, an assault on Democracy itself. So if by crooked you mean breaking laws to make money, Clinton and Reagan would be pretty darn close to each other, Nixon in this case would be a Caeser like dictor wanna be. But if by crooked you mean criminal generally, Nixon definately would take the cake - because he himself orchestrated the crimes.

I'd have to go with Reagan. If you look at what people were getting charged/convicted for, with Clinton, it was mostly the usual sort of corruption - kickbacks, bribes, etc (sex). Under Reagan's watch, we had - the CIA financing terrorism (car bombs, Lebannon), people in the executive party selling weapons to a totalitarian state (Iran), while supporting the right wing Contras in a horrible war against the citizens of Nicaragua, all because the Sandanistas didn't meet our political criteria.

If you look at what these people did, the actions of the Reagan presidency cost many, many innocent lives around the world, and truly set the stage for all the current blowback happening in the Middle East and West Asia. To me, that is worse than what happened with either Nixon or Clinton. Bear in mind, I do include Clinton on this list. I spent eight years in vocal dissent about his presidency. I would say, Reagan, Nixon, Clinton, in that order. As for earlier administrations, that would take some more research.

I'm shocked you're not mentioning Bush. It's true that the Justice department is in their pocket and maybe that's why they've gotten away with so much blatant corruption. But really, let's just look at some of the possibilities:

Ashcroft: obstruction of justice, lying to the public, war criminal, violation of constitutional rights

Bush: war criminal, lying to the public, treason, unprovoked attacks on a sovereign nation, nepotism, war profiteering, violation of constitutional rights, election fraud

Rice: war crimes, lying to the public

Powell: moral failings

Cheney: malfeasance, war profiteering, campaign fraud

Rumsfeld: war crimes, lying to the public, violation of international law

It's rumored Bush would not last a second term without an indictment or a resignation on his own part.

The truth will out.

I'd have to say hands down it was Nixon. He used the resources available to the president in order to secure the best possible result in the 1982 elections. This included misusing the FBI, CIA, IRS, and CREEP. As a matter of course Nixon felt that the president should be able to do such things, he compiled an enemies list and used his resources against it.

It is also alleged that he used secret contacts with Nroth Vietnam to stall Johnson's efforts to get a peace agreement done in 1968.

No president has come so close to breaking down the checks and balances of our system as Nixon.

Clinton doesn't even come close.

Reagan engaged in a secret foreign policy to defy the will of congress and provide weapons to one of our enemies.

If the question was most corrupt adm. then it would be Reagans without a second of hesitation. As for Reagan? I honestly think he was well too stupid to be corrupt. Reagan was a puppet merely a likeable figure head. His administration (which was corrupt) ran the nation. Now Nixon and Clinton were both geniuses. I would say both were crooked but what Clinton said about Lewinsky doesnt equate. That is a personal matter and he had every right to weasel out of it. They didnt make the definition exact and any cheating man who wanted to spare his family would have done the exact same. Now for the Mark Rich pardon? Very Very suspect. Whitewater fell through after a multo million dollar investigation. I would say Nixon that evil genius was the most currupt.

It would have to be Tricky Dickey off of that list, I am surprised L.B.J is not included. He and Nixon were the most corrupt in the 20th century IMO. However history will be more lenient on them after all the partisans are dead and forgotten. L.B.J will be remembered for takeing over after J.F.K was assasinated and his social programs. Nixon will be rememberd for his foreign policy truimphs and Watergate will be downplayed.

I too am starting to lean towards GW- the unfortunate part is, since we have a Republican legislative body, and supreme court, it is unlikely that the needed investigations will take place. Pretty much all GW has to do is say "I am for guns, against gay marriage, against abortion" and he will pretty much be able to steal from the whole country if he wants to LOL

I really would like someone to really delve into his past business practice to the same degree as they jumped on Clinton- especially the "funeralgate" scandal in Texas- that sure seems to be a real deal there.

we are only two seats away from having a majority.

and NIXON, hands down.