Exploring Washington, D.c.'s Top Scandal Sites

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You can't walk down a Washington street without recalling some scandal that has besmirched it. D.C.'s dirt has tarnished the image of the nation's capital time and time again during America's history. When you're done with the Mall and the memorials, you may want to round out your education by visiting this hit parade of top scandal sites, here grouped by location.

 

Watergate

A security guard, arriving early on the morning of June 17, 1972 at the Watergate in Foggy Bottom found tape over the lock to the bugged offices of the Democratic Party's national headquarters. Inside he came across, not the janitor, but five rubber-gloved men clutching $100 bills and binoculars — and not a broom or mop in sight. Two years later, Tricky **ear** Nixon resigned. In the fallout, Judge "Maximum John" Sirica sent 25 members of the president's staff to camp (the kind with bars on the cabin doors and windows).

 

During Monica Lewinsky's White House internship and, ahem, special friendship with President Clinton, she shared an apartment and confidences with her mother at the Watergate.

 

Howard Johnson Hotel

Across the street from the Watergate, at the Howard Johnson Hotel, 2601 Virginia Ave. NW (now a George Washington University dormitory), G. Gordon Liddy got his hands dirty on behalf of the Watergate caper. Liddy collected $235,000 for his efforts as the former counsel to the Committee to Re-elect the President.

 

Tidal Basin

On October 7, 1974, Representative Wilbur Mills (one-time Arkansas congressman and chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee) and a woman were stopped at 2 a.m. near the Tidal Basin for speeding in a car without headlights. (Perhaps they were paying their respects at the nearby Jefferson Memorial?) Accompanying Mills was Fanne (no "i") Foxe, a **nerd** better known as "the Argentine firecracker." With Jefferson looking on, the firecracker cracked and took a swan dive into the Tidal Basin, ending Mills' career. He subsequently resigned from the Ways and Means Committee and did not seek reelection in 1976.

 

Old Executive Office Building

Nixon had Watergate and Ronald Reagan had his Waterloo, known as Iran Contra, in 1986. Consider the startling similarities when you pass the Old Executive Office Building, 17 Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, on the west side of the White House. In an attempt to down Nicaragua's socialist Sandinista government, Reagan's administration sold arms to Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini and used the payoff to subsidize a pickup army of freedom fighters known as the Contras. Perhaps the Teflon president's memory problems had already begun as Reagan, grinning ear to ear, disavowed any knowledge of his underlings' illegal machinations.

 

Remember Ollie North? He was the G. Gordon Liddy of the Iran Contra scandal who did his dirty work in the bowels of this building, a stone's throw from the presidential mansion. North's secretary, doe-like Fawn Hall, shredded the evidence, something Rosemary Wood wished — a thousand or so times a day — she had done to the Watergate tapes. During a congressional hearing, Hall was heard to say, "Sometimes you have to go above the written law." Way to go, Fawn.

 

The White House

Here's something to mull over while you wait to tour the White House. Ever wonder how many presidents have respected their marriage vows? That list is short. Very short. It's unsurprising that psychologists have linked politicians' voracious desire for power with their other expanded appetites.

 

Here are a few to consider. Warren G. Harding enjoyed Nan Britton's company in the Oval Office (sound familiar?). Britton claimed that Harding fathered her illegitimate daughter when he was a senator. Harding also carried on with Carrie Fulton Phillips, the wife of a good friend. FDR was busy with Missy Lehand and Lucy Mercer, the latter of whom was with the president when he died. Eisenhower had Kay Summersby. Lyndon B. Johnson had — shoot, who can count that high? LBJ enjoyed a rep as a womanizer all his life, probably because he was so suave and debonair? President Clinton needs no bibliography here. Stay tuned for his 20-volume memoir.

 

The Jefferson, Willard, and Vista hotels

Several D.C. hotels have made headline news — and not for their low rates. **ear** Morris, one-time political consultant to President Clinton, kept company with Sherry Rowlands, a $200-an-hour **nerd** at The Jefferson Hotel. The twosome was caught snuggling on the balcony of Suite 205. Smooth Sherry claimed that Morris shared insider secrets with her and also let her listen in on conversations with the Clintons.

 

Ulysses S. Grant met with influence peddlers over brandy and cigars in the lobby (hence the term lobbyist) of the Willard Hotel. Various robber barons also wheeled and dealed here, buying politicians' votes in exchange for whiskey and cash during the Civil War.

 

On January 18, 1990, in Room 727 of the Vista Hotel, Marion Barry (former D.C. mayor, drug addict, and ladies man) was caught in an FBI sting taking hits from a crack pipe. Hey, it's a pressured job. At the trial, where he faced 14 separate drug charges, he was convicted on one measly count of cocaine possession and did six months in Petersburg, Virginia. While incarcerated, a **nerd** helped Barry de-stress in the prison's visiting room, in plain view of about 40 inmates and their families. Despite his "poor judgment," and despite the censure of 14 members of his administration for fiscal wrongdoings, Barry was reelected and was sworn in for a fourth term on January 2, 1995.

 

Capitol Hill

Facing the west facade (actually the back, which overlooks the Mall), look left to find the Senate and right to view the House of Representatives. Members of the House and Senate have found themselves in some pretty sticky situations over the years, usually outside the walls of their bureaucratic offices. Consider the following as you gaze at these imposing structures:

 

Pity poor Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy. Despite legislative success, wealth, and power, he doesn't have the Midas touch. Two of his brothers have been assassinated; he took an unscheduled swim one summer night in Chappaquiddick, ending his presidential aspirations; his first marriage dissolved; he was at the family's Palm Beach compound the night of nephew Willy Smith's "incident" (Smith was accused and acquitted of rape). And then there's his ongoing struggle with wine, women, and calories. What's in a name?

You may recall South Carolina congressman John Jenrette being nailed for his part in Abscam. He and some buddies sold Congressional favors to "sheiks" who were really FBI agents wearing robes over their three-piece suits. During the investigation, his wife, Rita, testified to finding $25,000 in one of John's shoes. Yuppie arch supports? During a break in a late-night House session, Jenrette was caught with his pants down, having sex with a woman on the west steps of the Capitol. The woman turned out to be his wife. But not for long. The model couple separated, and soon after, John was arrested for shoplifting.

And, a short walk from the Capitol, Stephen Gobie, former boyfriend and housekeeper of Rep. Barney Frank (Democratic congressman from Massachusetts), ran a male escort service — out of Frank's home.

[Guest Guest]

That's it????????

 

 

"MY God" Capitol Hill is a Virtual Sex Den. One of the Favorite Spots in the Capitol is in the parking garage, and all of those mazes (Oh My God).

[Guest Hill resident]

Actually your information on Barney Frank is incorrect. Frank's former boyfried was in fact turning tricks, but it wasn't in Frank's home. It was in an English basement apartment. It was a separate apartment. For those of you unfamiliar with DC row houses, many have a separate apartment in the basement. It's legally separate, and is not part of the main house. They have their own separate private entrance.

 

So to say tricks were being turned in Franks home simply isn't accurate.

 

There is no evidence to suggest Frank knew about this.

 

I have tenants in my basement, and I can honestly say it's quite possible they could discretely run an escort service there without me knowing.

[Guest GoldenTiger]

Actually your information on Barney Frank is incorrect. Frank's former boyfried was in fact turning tricks, but it wasn't in Frank's home. It was in an English basement apartment. It was a separate apartment. For those of you unfamiliar with DC row houses, many have a separate apartment in the basement. It's legally separate, and is not part of the main house. They have their own separate private entrance.

 

So to say tricks were being turned in Franks home simply isn't accurate.

 

There is no evidence to suggest Frank knew about this.

 

I have tenants in my basement, and I can honestly say it's quite possible they could discretely run an escort service there without me knowing.

 

Yawn. How do you know this?

[Guest Human]

All those mazes have more cameras then you can dream of. It would be suicide to try anything there.

 

Also to you Hill Resident, Yeah Right!!!! And your neighbors are completely clueless. I can honestly say that your neighbors have an eagle eye and it aint for kicks.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it????????

 

 

"MY God" Capitol Hill is a Virtual Sex Den. One of the Favorite Spots in the Capitol is in the parking garage, and all of those mazes (Oh My God).

[Guest HUMAN]

Though I will agree with you on one thing, You do NEED a strong pair of sun glasses while walking on the outside.

 

Though I do wish that the feminists WOULD picket Capitol Hill 24/7.

 

Just to remind the women there that they don't need to wear see thru dresses just to get a promotion, or their foot in the door. But I'm a Republican and I believe equal rights for women " You Democrats can go right ahead and Shoot me on that one".

 

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That's it????????

 

 

"MY God" Capitol Hill is a Virtual Sex Den. One of the Favorite Spots in the Capitol is in the parking garage, and all of those mazes (Oh My God).