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 controversies 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. 

‘I am not a crook’

The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 1973, then-President Richard Nixon held a press conference in Orlando, Florida, where he famously said he was not a “crook” as the Watergate break-in and subsequent scandal came to light. 

At the heart of the scandal were Nixon’s efforts to obstruct justice by directing a cover-up of the Watergate office complex break-in, including suppressing the FBI’s investigation, paying hush money and misusing federal agencies to shield his administration from scrutiny.

As the scandal 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 public life, I have never profited, never profited from public service — I have earned every cent,” Nixon said, initially answering questions surrounding his personal finances. “And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice.” 

“And I think, too, that I could say that in my years of public 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,” he continued. 

Nixon ultimately resigned in August 1974, as the impeachment process was underway and a grand jury prepared to indict him on charges of bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and obstruction of a criminal investigation related to the Watergate cover-up. 

Nixon was later pardoned and did not face any federal prosecution in the matter. 

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Iran–Contra breaks open

Details unraveled surrounding the Iran–Contra affair in the early days of November 1986 before crescendoing the week of Thanksgiving, including then-President Ronald Reagan dismissing Lt. Col. Oliver North and announcing the resignation of National Security Advisor John Poindexter two days before the holiday. 

News began to percolate overseas in early November 1986 that the U.S. made a secret arms sale to Iran to secure the release of American hostages held in Lebanon, with U.S. officials later divulging the funds from the deal were used to fund an anti-communist rebel group in Nicaragua called the Contras. 

Two days before Thanksgiving, Reagan announced he had dismissed North from the National Security Council, with Poindexter resigning that same day. On Thanksgiving eve, Reagan announced the creation of a Special Review Board to review the National Security Council’s role in the deal, later known as the Tower Commission. 

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The fallout from the report continued over the holiday and even into the George H.W. Bush administration, when the then-president granted pardons to a handful of individuals involved on Christmas Eve 1992. 

Clinton’s impeachment heats up 

While many Americans were out shopping on Black Friday in 1998, the Clinton White House delivered then-President Bill Clinton’s written responses to 81 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 1998, with the House authorizing an impeachment inquiry in October that intensified around the Thanksgiving holiday. The Judiciary had sent Clinton 81 questions that focused on his relationship with Lewinsky based on independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s report that included evidence related to the affair allegations. 

Clinton returned the 81 questions on Black Friday, which included questions on his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and his conduct in the Paula Jones case, which accused him of sexual harassment in 1994. 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. 

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The 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. 

Bush’s secret Thanksgiving trip to Iraq 

In a more light-hearted Thanksgiving political event, then-President George W. Bush quietly traveled to Iraq in 2003 to meet with the troops stationed in Baghdad. The visit —  which was completely cloaked in secrecy until he was there — marked the first time a sitting president visited Iraq. 

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“Our planners worked to answer every question,” Bush said at the time concerning the intense planning around 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 some claims that the president was working for a political gain ahead of the 2004 election, while the administration brushed off such claims while stressing the commander-in-chief’s visit was focused on supporting the troops amid a war. 

Trump pardons Michael Flynn

Just after 4 p.m. on the eve of Thanksgiving in 2020, Trump announced he delivered a full pardon to his former national security adviser, retired Army Gen. Michael Flynn.

The White House later in the day sent out a statement saying that Flynn “should never have been prosecuted” and that the pardon ends “the relentless, partisan pursuit of an innocent man.”

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“While today’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 statement continued.

The pardon ended a yearslong legal battle stemming from then-special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Flynn’s pardon was preceded by his 2017 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 authorities. 

In 2019, Flynn claimed he was innocent in the case and sought to withdraw his guilty plea, citing alleged government misconduct. 

The Department of Justice was in the midst of moving to dismiss the case when Trump pardoned Flynn.