A look back at the biggest presidential Thanksgiving scandals, surprises
Thanksgiving typically slows the news as Americans gather with family and friends But the holiday also has a habit of amplifying Washington D C 's political drama and surprises Americans are no strangers to argument and scandals including a handful that have played out across the decades as citizens gathered around the dinner table for Thanksgiving or headed out for Black Friday shopping Fox News Digital took a look back at the biggest scandals and political events that rocked Washington D C around the fall holiday FACTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING YOU CAN SHARE BETWEEN BITES OF TURKEY THIS HOLIDAYThe Saturday before Thanksgiving in President Richard Nixon held a press conference in Orlando Florida where he famously announced he was not a crook as the Watergate break-in and subsequent embarrassment came to light At the heart of the controversy were Nixon s efforts to obstruct justice by directing a cover-up of the Watergate office complex break-in including suppressing the FBI s study paying hush money and misusing federal agencies to shield his administration from scrutiny As the embarrassment surrounding the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters heated up Nixon defended himself in a televised Q A with newspaper editors gathered at Walt Disney World for a convention Let me just say this and I want to say this to the television audience I made my mistakes but in all of my years of populace life I have never profited never profited from residents system I have earned every cent Nixon disclosed initially answering questions about his personal finances And in all of my years of citizens life I have never obstructed justice And I think too that I could say that in my years of society life that I welcome this kind of examination because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook Well I am not a crook I have earned everything I have got Nixon resigned in August with an impeachment process underway and a grand jury prepared to indict him on charges of bribery conspiracy obstruction of justice and obstruction of a criminal scrutiny related to the Watergate cover-up Nixon was later pardoned and did not face any federal prosecution in the matter Details unraveled about the Iran Contra affair in the early days of November before crescendoing the week of Thanksgiving including then-President Ronald Reagan dismissing Lt Col Oliver North and announcing the resignation of National Defense Advisor John Poindexter two days before the holiday News began to percolate overseas in early November that the U S made a secret arms sale to Iran to secure the release of American hostages held in Lebanon U S bureaucrats later divulged the funds from the deal were used to fund an anti-communist rebel group in Nicaragua called the Contras Two days before Thanksgiving Reagan reported he had dismissed North from the National Safeguard Council with Poindexter resigning that same day On Thanksgiving eve Reagan released the creation of a Special Review Board to review the National Protection Council s role in the deal later known as the Tower Commission MEET THE AMERICAN WHO GAVE THE NATION OUR FIRST THANKSGIVING ORIGIN STORY PILGRIM EDWARD WINSLOWThe fallout from the summary continued over the holiday and even into the George H W Bush administration when the president granted pardons to a handful of individuals involved on Christmas Eve While various Americans were out shopping on Black Friday in the Clinton White House delivered President Bill Clinton's written responses to questions from House Judiciary related to his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky as part of an impeachment inquiry Clinton already had declared to the nation that he did not have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky in January and the House authorized an impeachment inquiry in October that intensified around the Thanksgiving holiday The Judiciary had sent Clinton questions that focused on his relationship with Lewinsky based on independent counsel Kenneth Starr's account that included evidence related to the affair claims Clinton returned the questions on Black Friday which included questions about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and his conduct in the Paula Jones matter which accused him of sexual harassment in Judiciary Republicans accused Clinton of playing word games in his responses which included Clinton denying he committed perjury or obstructing justice and the impeachment inquiry continued TRUMP DEMOCRATS LOCKED IN ENDLESS CYCLES OF PAYBACK AFTER COMEY INDICTMENT AND TARGETING PRESIDENT'S ENEMIESThe House ultimately impeached Clinton on charges of perjury to a grand jury and obstruction of justice related to his efforts to conceal the affair with an intern while the Senate voted to acquit Clinton on both articles of impeachment In a more light-hearted Thanksgiving political event President George W Bush quietly traveled to Iraq in to meet with the troops stationed in Baghdad The visit cloaked in secrecy until he was there marked the first time a sitting president visited Iraq AMERICA'S 'UNIQUE' THANKSGIVING STUFFING PREFERENCES STATE-BY-STATE Our planners worked to answer every question Bush explained at the time about the intense planning for the trip I had a lot of questions Bush was on the ground for over two hours before he made the trip back to the U S The trip set off selected asserts that the president was working for a political gain ahead of the electoral contest while the administration brushed off such proposes while stressing the commander in chief's visit was focused on supporting the troops amid a war Just after p m on the eve of Thanksgiving in Trump broadcasted he delivered a full pardon to his former national prevention advisor retired Army Gen Michael Flynn The White House later in the day issued a announcement saying Flynn should never have been prosecuted and that the pardon ends the relentless partisan pursuit of an innocent man TRUMP ISSUES SWEEPING PARDONS FOR BALLOTING ALLIES WHAT THE MOVE REALLY MEANS While in the present day s action sets right an injustice against an innocent man and an American hero it should also serve as a reminder to all of us that we must remain vigilant over those in whom we place our trust and confidence the message continued The pardon ended a yearslong legal battle stemming from then-special counsel Robert Mueller's study into Russian interference in the vote Flynn s pardon was preceded by his guilty plea for lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia He also had admitted to filing paperwork under the Foreign Agents Registration Act His sentencing however was stalled due to his cooperation with executives In Flynn claimed he was innocent in the circumstance and sought to withdraw his guilty plea citing alleged regime misconduct The Department of Justice was in the midst of moving to dismiss the scenario when Trump pardoned Flynn
