Political scandal in the context of Sex scandal

The Watergate scandal, or simply Watergate, was a political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The affair began on June 17, 1972, when members of a group associated with Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign were caught burglarizing and planting listening devices in the Democratic National Committee headquarters at Washington, D.C.'s Watergate complex. Nixon's attempts to conceal his administration's involvement led to an impeachment process and his resignation in August 1974.

Emerging from the White House's intelligence efforts to stop leaks, the Watergate break-in was an implementation of Operation Gemstone, enacted by mostly Cuban burglars led by former intelligence agents E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. After the burglars' arrests, investigators traced their funding to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, the fundraising arm of Nixon's campaign. Further revelations from investigators and reporters like the Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein—who were guided by "Deep Throat", the leaking FBI Associate Director Mark Felt—revealed a political espionage campaign illegally funded by donor contributions. Nixon denied responsibility, but his administration destroyed evidence, obstructed investigators, and bribed the arrested burglars. This cover-up was initially successful and allowed Nixon to win a landslide re-election. Revelations from the burglars' trial in early 1973 led to a Senate investigation. In April, Nixon denied wrongdoing and accepted top aides' resignations.

Partygate was a political scandal in the United Kingdom about gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gatherings. The scandal contributed to Boris Johnson's downfall as Prime Minister and his resignation as an MP.

While several lockdowns were in place, gatherings took place at 10 Downing Street, its garden and other government and Conservative Party buildings. Reports of these events later attracted media attention, public backlash and political controversy. In January 2022, twelve gatherings came under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, including at least three attended by Johnson, the prime minister. The police issued 126 fixed penalty notices to 83 individuals, including Johnson, his wife Carrie and Rishi Sunak (then Chancellor of the Exchequer, who also subsequently became prime minister), who all apologised and paid the penalties.

This is a list of major political scandals in France.

The Gold Scandal of 1965 was a significant political scandal in Uganda that played a key role in the lead up to the Mengo Crisis of 1966. The scandal centered on allegations of illegal profiteering from gold, ivory, and cash originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accusations were made against Prime Minister Milton Obote, Colonel Idi Amin, and other high-ranking government officials. The accusations, brought forth by Member of Parliament Daudi Ochieng, alleged that these officials had illicitly benefited from transactions related to covert aid supplied to Congolese rebel leaders. The scandal involved accusations of large sums of money being deposited into personal accounts, and it deeply destabilized the political climate in Uganda, contributing to the subsequent political turmoil.

The 2016 South Korean political scandal, often called Park Geun-hye–Choi Soon-sil Gate in South Korea (Korean: 박근혜·최순실 게이트), was a scandal that emerged around October 2016 in relation to the unusual access that Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of shaman-esque cult leader Choi Tae-min, had to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.

Widespread coverage of this South Korean political scandal began in late October 2016. On 29 November, Park offered to begin the process of removing herself from power. On 9 December, Park was impeached, and then-prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn became the acting president. On 21 December, a Special Prosecution Team led by Park Young Soo began to investigate the scandal. On 10 March 2017, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled to uphold the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye. All eight judges agreed that President Park abused her power, and removed her from office. A new election was held sixty days afterwards, which resulted in the victory of Democratic Party candidate Moon Jae-in. Moon won 41% of the popular vote in the election. The scandal caused the first impeachment of a sitting South Korean president since the impeachment of Roh Moo-hyun on 12 March 2004, and the last until Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment on 14 December 2024.