Administration ethics
All 16 modern US presidents ranked by their net score on this single sub-criterion. Good and harm are scored 0–10 independently; net is good minus harm. Click a name for the full scorecard.
Generally clean Cabinet. No major scandals. Eric Lander resignation (early). Some workplace investigations.
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- good·Tier 2·Historical record·Unverified
Biden administration generally clean of major ethics scandals throughout term; no senior officials prosecuted.
whitehouse.gov ↗
Broadly clean Cabinet. Some nepotism (RFK as AG). No major financial scandals.
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- good·Tier 2·Academic·Unverified
Kennedy administration broadly avoided financial-corruption scandals; RFK appointment as AG was the principal nepotism criticism.
Kennedy Cabinet records 1961-1963; standard biographical scholarship
Generally clean administration. Rockefeller wealth disclosure during VP confirmation set new transparency precedent.
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- good·Tier 2·Primary document·Unverified
Rockefeller's financial disclosure during VP confirmation established new transparency precedent for executive-branch appointees.
senate.gov ↗
The Cabinet was characterized in reporting as broadly clean. The 2014 VA wait-time matter was documented by the VA Office of Inspector General and led to the resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki. The 2013-2015 IRS targeting matter was documented in the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) audit reports; the matter produced political controversy but no criminal prosecutions of administration officials. The Solyndra loan-guarantee episode produced political controversy without prosecutions.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
The VA OIG documented the 2014 wait-time matter, which led to Secretary Shinseki's resignation. TIGTA audits documented the 2013-2015 IRS processing of tax-exempt applications; the matter produced political controversy but no criminal prosecutions of administration officials.
VA Office of Inspector General report on wait-time data (2014); TIGTA audit reports on IRS processing of tax-exempt applications (2013-2015)
Some patronage/cronyism issues common to era. Hopkins, Ickes, Perkins generally clean. Some war-mobilization contracting irregularities; Truman Committee investigated under his auspices.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Senate's Truman Committee investigated WWII contracting irregularities under FDR; identified ~$10-15 billion in waste/fraud but largely cooperative-not-adversarial relationship with administration.
senate.gov ↗
Sherman Adams gift scandal (1958) — chief of staff resigned after accepting vicuña coat and other gifts from Bernard Goldfine. Otherwise clean administration.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Sherman Adams, Eisenhower's chief of staff, resigned after House investigation revealed gifts from textile manufacturer under FTC investigation — the only major scandal of the administration.
congress.gov ↗
Generally clean Cabinet. Some Iran-Contra-era figures retained (Robert Gates as CIA Director). Sununu travel scandal (resigned 1991).
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- harm·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
Chief of Staff Sununu resigned over personal-travel-on-government-aircraft scandal; otherwise relatively clean administration.
John Sununu resignation December 1991; Robert Gates CIA nomination
Bert Lance scandal (1977) — OMB director resigned over Georgia banking issues. Otherwise clean. Hamilton Jordan cocaine allegations (cleared).
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
OMB Director Bert Lance resigned amid investigation of pre-OMB Georgia banking practices; major early-term administration-ethics issue.
senate.gov ↗
Walter Jenkins (chief of staff) resigned after morals arrest (October 1964). Fortas SCOTUS judicial-ethics scandal emerged (1968-69, post-term).
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- harm·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
Walter Jenkins resignation and Fortas scandal were the two principal administration-ethics events of LBJ era.
Walter Jenkins arrest record October 7, 1964; Abe Fortas SCOTUS resignation May 1969
Multiple late-term scandals: 'five-percenters' (influence peddling), RFC loan scandals, IRS Bureau of Internal Revenue corruption (166 BIR officials forced out). Truman responded but slowly.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Truman's late-term saw multiple administration scandals: ~166 IRS officials were removed for corruption, three Cabinet-level aides forced out, contributing substantially to Truman's 22% approval at end of term.
senate.gov ↗
Multiple investigations: Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, Chinagate. Few convictions but pattern of investigations. Some legitimate, some politically motivated.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Clinton administration faced multiple investigations producing some convictions (Henry Cisneros, etc.) and continuous political pressure throughout term.
Independent Counsel investigations 1994-2001; Chinagate campaign finance investigations
Iran-Contra: Poindexter, North, McFarlane, Weinberger convicted (Bush 41 pardoned all). EPA scandal (Gorsuch, Lavelle). HUD scandal (Pierce). 138 officials investigated, indicted, or convicted — second to Nixon.
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- harm·Tier 1·Academic·Unverified
Approximately 138 Reagan administration officials investigated, indicted, or convicted during his term — among the highest scandal counts in modern presidency.
Brookings Institution tracking of Reagan administration prosecutions; Iran-Contra prosecutions list
Plame Affair (2003) leak of CIA officer's identity for political revenge. Libby conviction (commuted). US Attorney firings (2006-07) for politically-motivated reasons. Halliburton/Cheney conflicts.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Scooter Libby convicted of perjury and obstruction in Plame Affair (sentence commuted by GW Bush); US Attorney firings exposed pattern of political interference in DOJ prosecutions.
justice.gov ↗
Multiple convictions of Trump associates: Manafort, Cohen, Flynn, Gates, Bannon, Stone, etc. ~5 senior officials convicted of federal crimes. Foreign emoluments lawsuits. Personal-business presidential conflicts.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
The Mueller investigation yielded 7 convictions or guilty pleas among Trump associates (some subsequently pardoned by Trump); subsequent prosecutions yielded additional convictions among campaign-era and administration figures.
archives.gov ↗
Cabinet appointments characterized in reporting as departing from typical confirmation norms (Hegseth, Patel, RFK Jr., Bondi), with several confirmations on tight margins and contested testimony. Ethics watchdogs including CREW and POGO raised conflict-of-interest concerns regarding Elon Musk's role at DOGE given SpaceX and Tesla federal contracts; the administration disputed these characterizations.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Trump T2 Cabinet included several appointments confirmed on tight margins with contested testimony. Ethics watchdogs (CREW, POGO) raised conflict-of-interest concerns regarding Musk's DOGE role given SpaceX and Tesla federal contracts; the administration disputed these characterizations.
whitehouse.gov ↗
Forty-eight Nixon administration officials convicted, including AG John Mitchell (longest sentence), Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, Domestic Policy Advisor John Ehrlichman, WH Counsel John Dean. Most-prosecuted administration in US history.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Approximately 48 Nixon administration officials were convicted of Watergate-related crimes, including a sitting Attorney General — unprecedented in US presidential history.
archives.gov ↗