Biggest Scandals of the Year

Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens was seen as a rising star in the Republican Party after he won the 2016 Missouri gubernatorial race. However, Greitens was dogged by accusations of an extramarital affair and improprieties regarding his use of campaign funds. Greitens was arrested on an invasion-of-privacy charge after prosecutors said he took a nude photo of the woman with whom he was having an affair and used it to blackmail her. He claimed the charges were false and fought the accusations. But Greitens had few friends among his Republican colleagues, many of whom were his harshest critics, and he resigned in June. Prosecutors dropped the charges after his resignation.

“Teflon Don” was the nickname given to mob boss John Gotti for evading criminal convictions. The teflon tag might apply to President Donald Trump, who so far has managed to move past scandals involving two alleged trysts. In March, porn star Stormy Daniels filed a suit to void a non-disclosure deal she made with Trump before the 2016 presidential election about their alleged affair. Also in March, former Playboy model Karen McDougal sued American Media Inc., publisher of supermarket tabloids, over a non-disclosure agreement she signed in August 2016 over an alleged assignation with the president.