political scandals

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore’s mayor resigned under pressure Thursday amid a flurry of investigations into whether she arranged bulk sales of her self-published children’s books to disguise hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. Mayor Catherine Pugh’s resignation came exactly a week after her City Hall offices, homes and multiple other locations were raided by […]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore’s embattled mayor announced Monday she is taking an indefinite leave of absence, just as a political scandal described by critics as a “self-dealing” book-selling arrangement intensifies dramatically and threatens her political career. In a brief statement, Mayor Catherine Pugh’s office announced she feels unable to fulfill her obligations as mayor due […]

Just one month ago, there was widespread demand for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to resign for having worn blackface. But now that storm seems to have passed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Enquirer kept a safe containing documents on hush money payments and other damaging stories it killed as part of its cozy relationship with Donald Trump leading up to the 2016 presidential election, people familiar with the arrangement told The Associated Press. The detail came as several media outlets reported on […]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter was swarmed by demonstrators yelling “shame on you!” as he left a federal courthouse Thursday in San Diego after pleading not guilty to charges of illegally using his campaign account for personal expenses. The California Republican and his wife, Margaret, entered their pleas in federal court, where […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Paul Manafort, the longtime political operative who for months led Donald Trump’s winning presidential campaign, was found guilty of eight financial crimes Tuesday in the first trial victory of the special counsel investigation into the president’s associates. A judge declared a mistrial on 10 other counts the jury could not agree […]

DALLAS (AP) — Federal prosecutors say Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway accepted more than $450,000 in kickbacks and bribes, in part through gambling money, trips to Las Vegas and elsewhere, and a phony consulting agreement. Court documents filed Thursday show Caraway, the second highest-ranking elected official in Dallas, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned Thursday amid ethics investigations of outsized security spending, first-class flights and a sweetheart condo lease. With Pruitt’s departure, President Donald Trump loses an administrator many conservatives regarded as one of the more effective members of his Cabinet. But Pruitt had also been dogged for months […]

The last time I spoke with former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was in 2010, following his 99-day jail sentence for perjury and several years before he was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for crimes that included racketeering and mail fraud. “I understand what my position as mayor meant to our community, and I […]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens declared victory as prosecutors abruptly dropped a felony invasion-of-privacy charge alleging he had taken a revealing photo of a woman with whom he has acknowledged having an affair. The St. Louis circuit attorney’s office said it still plans to pursue the case, either through a special prosecutor […]

NASHIVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Before her sudden fall, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was a progressive, pro-business rising star among Tennessee’s struggling Democrats a firmly red state. She officiated the city’s first gay marriage before being elected in 2015. She pushed for tremendous growth, helping shape an ever-changing skyline of construction cranes and new high-rises. […]

On this day in 1967, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was barred from his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on allegations of corruption and office misconduct. Supporters of the popular New York congressman believed the act was due to his race as well as a ploy to derail Powell’s political power. Powell, born November […]