FBI Has Long History Investigating US Presidents

 

Federal Bureau of Investigation¹ (FBI) Director James Comey recently confirmed an investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 United States elections.

Comey said his agency is studying possible links between Russian officials and the election campaign of then presidential candidate Donald Trump². He said U.S. intelligence had already found the Russian government took steps to influence the vote, with the goal of helping³ the businessman get elected.

Trump has been office for over two months. His administration has denied that he or members of his campaign team were in contact with Russian officials before the election. Comey told a congressional committee the FBI was still exploring possible ties between Trump’s supporters and Russia. He promised that investigators⁴ would “follow the facts wherever they lead.”

The FBI carries out investigations⁵ for the Justice Department, which is responsible for enforcing laws and administering justice. Some investigations involve other government agencies or officials.

There have been examples of the FBI investigating possible crimes by U.S. presidents.

Nixon and Watergate

One of the most famous cases was the Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Two years earlier, five men were arrested for breaking into the offices of the Democratic Party. The break-in took place at the Watergate building in Washington, D.C.

During an investigation of the break-in, U.S. lawmakers learned that Nixon had set up recording⁶ equipment in the White House. They discovered that discussions between the president and his aides had been recorded.

In the recordings⁷, Nixon was heard ordering officials to tell the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to lie to the FBI in an effort to block the investigation. Several people working for Nixon went to jail for their involvement in the Watergate scandal.

Nixon himself faced possible criminal charges and an impeachment⁸ from office. On August 8, 1974, he went on national television to announce he would resign the next day.

“I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent⁹ to every instinct in my body. But as president, I must put the interests of America first.”

Newspaper reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered and documented the Watergate scandal. The two based their stories on a government official whom they did not identify in their reports. They instead called him “Deep Throat.”

The identity of Deep Throat was kept secret for more than 30 years. In 2005, the unidentified source finally came forward. It was Mark Felt, who had served as the number two man in the FBI during the Watergate years.

In a book, Felt said he understood that some people would always think he was wrong for secretly providing information to the reporters. But he added, “The bottom line is that we did get the whole truth out, and isn't that what the FBI is supposed to do?”

J. Edgar Hoover

The White House tapes showed that before Watergate, Nixon considered removing the longest-serving director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover led the FBI for 48 years – working for eight different presidents - from 1924 until his death in 1972.

Hoover is credited with turning a new, small agency into an international leader in law enforcement and national security. But he was criticized for aggressively using surveillance to collect information on private citizens and government officials. In some cases, he gave presidents damaging personal information about their political opponents.

Later, he was seen as having little interest in protecting civil rights. Many police departments had failed to investigate crimes targeting blacks and other civil rights workers in the 1950s and 1960s.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the FBI was criticized for some of its investigations related to civil rights and Vietnam War protests. In 1975, a Senate committee found that FBI officials had acted wrongly or illegally a number of times.

Four years after Hoover left office, Congress passed a law limiting FBI directors to a single term of 10 years – a rule still in place today. U.S. presidents choose FBI directors and can also remove them.

Here are some notable cases of FBI investigations involving former presidents.

Ronald Reagan - Iran-Contra

This involved secret U.S. weapons sales to Iran during the 1980s. Ronald Reagan’s administration used money from the sales to help rebels trying to overthrow¹⁰ the Nicaraguan government. At the time, American weapons sales to Iran were banned.

The FBI investigated several members of the administration for their part in the arms sales. Reagan himself denied knowing that money was being diverted to the Contra rebels. Several officials were indicted¹² and charged. They included Deputy National Security Advisor¹³ John Poindexter and his aide, Oliver North.

Bill Clinton – Whitewater

When Bill Clinton was president, he and his wife Hillary were investigated for wrongdoing in connection with a real estate investment in Arkansas. The project, known as Whitewater, eventually failed and some partners in the deal were accused of fraud and other wrongdoing.

The scandal led to several investigations carried out by U.S. agencies, Congress and a special prosecutor¹⁴. House and Senate committees ended final hearings on Whitewater in 1994, clearing all members of the Clinton administration who had been investigated.

Bill Clinton – Paula Jones & Monica Lewinsky

In 1994, Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, brought a sexual harassment¹⁵ case against President Clinton. A special prosecutor investigated her accusations¹⁶. The case was eventually settled out of court for $850,000. Even though Clinton settled the case, he did not admit wrongdoing or apologize to Jones.

During the Jones investigation, a special prosecutor discovered Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House volunteer. Clinton publicly denied having sex with Lewinsky. But later he was impeached¹⁷ by the U.S. House of Representatives for lying about the relationship. In 1999, the Senate acquitted¹⁸ Clinton of all charges. He went on to complete his second term in office.

George W. Bush – CIA Leak

When George W. Bush was president, several members of his administration were accused of illegally leaking the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. After she was named by a newspaper reporter, Plame said her safety was threatened and her career destroyed.

Plame’s husband had publicly criticized Bush’s policy on Iraq, so the White House was accused of retaliating¹⁹ by leaking Plame’s identity. In the end, a man who had worked for Vice²⁰ President Dick Cheney, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, was convicted of lying to federal agents investigating the case.

Words in This Story

scandal – n. damage to image; an apparent moral or ethical²¹ violation²²

impeachment - n. the charging of an official of a crime while in office

abhorrent – adj. causing or deserving strong dislike or hatred²³

instinct – n. a natural desire to want to act in a particular way

divert – v. – v. take something from one place for use somewhere else

indict¹¹ - v. formally decide to put someone on trial for a crime

real estate – adj. having to do with buildings, home or land

leak – v. give (secret information) to someone so it becomes known to the public

retaliate²⁴ – v. do something bad back to someone who did something bad to you

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

8 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

9 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

10 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

11 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

12 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

13 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

16 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

17 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

19 retaliating   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The administration will begin retaliating in six weeks if EC policies remain unchanged. 凯特先生说，如果欧共体一意孤行，美国政府将于六周后开始报复。 来自互联网

20 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

21 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

22 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

23 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

24 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。