The word unprecedented has been used a lot lately and the current situation is unprecedented. Almost.
In the early seventies the DoJ had evidence that the Governor of Maryland was corrupt. You want this contract to build a bridge? Give me 10 grand and it's yours. That type of thing. As the investigation proceeded it became evident that this had been the custom in Maryland for some time and had actually involved successive Governors. Where was the previous Governor? He was in the White House, he was Vice President Spiro T Agnew. And the investigations indicated he had taken his corrupt practices with him to the new job.
The investigation eventually culminated in some forty corruption charges against Agnew. He said it was a politically motivated witch hunt, 'my political enemies', 'corrupt DoJ', blah blah blah. All familiar today.
The matter became urgent. Watergate was coming to a head, it was looking as if Nixon would resign or be removed imminently which would promote Agnew to President, and he was likely headed to a jail cell instead of the Oval Office.
I can remember hearing the item on the local radio news. Agnew had resigned and he had pleaded guilty to a single charge of tax evasion. A deal had been done, but he was gone.
That's history, not a crystal ball, but it may be that history repeats at least partially.
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Originally Posted by pritch
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