Harding scandals

Major incidents of corruption in government that occurred while Warren Harding was president in the early 1920s. The most notable, called the Teapot Dome scandal, involved the lease of federally owned oil reserve lands to private interests, in return for bribes. Several high officials, including the secretary of the interior, were ultimately convicted for their part in the affair. Although not personally implicated in the wrongdoing, Harding had clearly made a bad choice of associates and was shaken by the scandals.