Abstract
The first three “scandals” to follow Watergate are discussed in this chapter. Using summaries of the bad behavior by government officials the chapter examines whether or not these behaviors meet our criteria for scandals (they do not), yet they do get some credit for their crossover to pop culture. Koreagate is the first time the “gate” suffix is used on a national scandal and Abscam, many years later, gets its own movie—American Hustle.
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Notes
- 1.
As will be noted later, that movie was American Hustle .
- 2.
There was, however, Fawn Hall, North’s secretary who described for investigators how much shredding of documents took place in North’s office. She was later granted immunity from prosecution in return for her testimony against North in the criminal trial against him.
- 3.
See “The CNN Effect: The Search for a Communication Theory of International Relations,” by Eytan Gilboa (2005) for a critique of this concept.
- 4.
Critics would note that both MSNBC and FOX News are aimed more at providing opinion or entertainment than straight news , though this is not the venue for furthering that debate .
- 5.
For those familiar with either the book or the movie entitled Charlie Wilson’s War, this is a different Charlie Wilson. The one involved in providing funding to the Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan was from Texas and the one referenced in this context was from California .
- 6.
These were the members of the House of Representatives brought up on formal charges before the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. All but Patten, who was found not guilty, were censured .
- 7.
Interestingly, the House Counsel for the investigation was former Watergate special prosecutor , Leon Jaworski.
- 8.
As quoted in Whipple (2017).
- 9.
The commission also included former Senator and Secretary of State Edmund Muskie and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft.
- 10.
In fact, Independent Counsel, Lawrence Walsh issued an indictment of former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger just days before Bush’s attempted reelection.
- 11.
CNN was the only national cable news outlet at the time and had not yet reached the viewership it would during the first Gulf War in 1991.
- 12.
According to Smithsonian.com (Mansky 2017), Variety first used this comparison in reference to the Watergate hearings .
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Twombly, J. (2019). Koreagate, Abscam, and Iran-Contra. In: Political Scandal and American Pop Culture. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01340-0_3
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