Podcast
American Scandal
It focused on Harry Daugherty, the Attorney General during the 1920s, and explored the widespread corruption within the Harding administration, particularly his involvement in illegal activities and his use of the Justice Department for personal gain.
My guest today is Nathan Masters, host of the PBS series Lost LA and author of the book Crooked, the roaring 20s tale of a corrupt attorney general, a crusading senator and the birth of the American p...
— Episode: Teapot Dome | Corruption in the Harding...
Episode: Teapot Dome | Corruption in the Harding Era | 5
It focused on Harry Daugherty, the Attorney General during the 1920s, and explored the widespread corruption within the Harding administration, particularly his involvement in illegal activities and his use of the Justice Department for personal gain.
My guest today is Nathan Masters, host of the PBS series Lost LA and author of the book Crooked, the roaring 20s tale of a corrupt attorney general, a crusading senator and the birth of the American political scandal.
So you have a book Crooked and it's primarily about Harry Doherty, the attorney general of the United States in this time period from 1921 to 1924.
But to answer your question about why scandal was so pervasive during the Harding administration, you have to look at what happened before.
What if the man who's charged with upholding the rule of law and punishing those culprits, the Attorney General of the United States, he's the one who ultimately decides whether to investigate, whether to prosecute. What if he himself is corrupt?
To learn more about the Teapot Dome scandal and the Harry Doherty story, we recommend Master's book, Crooked, The Roaring Twenties Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, A Crusading Senator, and The Birth of the American Political Scandal.