TIM MAGUIRE

"Dewey Defeats Truman" was an erroneous banner headline on
the front page of the early editions of the Chicago Daily Tribune
(later Chicago Tribune) on November 3, 1948, the day after
incumbent United States president Harry S. Truman won an
upset victory over his opponent, Governor Thomas E. Dewey
of New York, in the 1948 presidential election.

It was one of the greatest upsets in presidential election history
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Thomas Edmund Dewey (1902 – 1971)

The Payola scandal reaches a new level of public prominence
and legal gravity on this day 1960, when President Eisenhower
called it an issue of public morality and the FCC proposed a
new law making involvement in Payola a criminal act.

What exactly was Payola? During the hearings conducted by Congressman Oren Harris (D-Arkansas) and his powerful
Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight—fresh off its inquiry
into quiz-show rigging—the term was sometimes used as a
blanket reference to a range of corrupt practices in the radio
and recording industries.

   
Albert James "Alan" Freed 
(December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965)        

      
      
     
In 1960, payola was made illegal. In December 1962, after
being charged on multiple counts of commercial bribery, 
Freed pled guilty to two counts of commercial bribery,
fined three hundred dollars and was given a suspended 
sentence.

  
 Nancy Kerrigan                             Tonya Harding
  
 

Olympic hopeful Nancy Kerrigan was attacked at a Detroit
ice rink following a practice session two days before the
Olympic trials. A man hit Kerrigan with a club on the back
of her knee, causing the figure skater to cry out in pain and bewilderment.

When the full story emerged a week later, the nation became
caught up in a real-life soap opera.

One of Kerrigan’s chief rivals for a place on the U.S. Figure
Skating Team was Tonya Harding. 

In mid-December 1993, Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly,
approached Shawn Eckardt about somehow eliminating
Kerrigan from the competition. Eckardt set up a meeting
with Derrick Smith and Shane Stant, who agreed to injure
Kerrigan for a fee.          

On December 16, 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives’
Committee on the Judiciary released a 265-page report
recommending the impeachment of President Bill Clinton
for high crimes and misdemeanors.

The subsequent impeachment proceedings were the culmination
of a slew of specious scandals involving the president and first
lady Hillary Clinton. The Clintons were suspected of arranging
improper real-estate deals, fundraising violations and cronyism
in involving the firing of White House travel agents. Added to the
mix were stories of Clinton’s extra-marital affairs and a sexual harassment claim filed against him.

House floor debates articles of impeachment.

On December 2, 2001, the Enron Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York court, sparking one of the
largest corporate scandals in U.S. history.