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Below is a historically grounded list of the major policy failures, scandals, criminal investigations, criminal convictions, civil judgments, and significant bankruptcies associated with presidents from John F. Kennedy through Donald J. Trump’s second term. It is not literally every failure or allegation; that would require thousands of entries. “Associated with” does not necessarily mean the president personally committed a crime.
The presidents in this period are Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden, and Trump again. <citation src="1,2,4"></citation>
## John F. Kennedy, 1961–1963
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
- Escalation of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
- Secret assassination plots and covert operations against foreign leaders, especially Fidel Castro.
- Initial reluctance to make civil rights a central legislative priority.
- Support for coups and covert interventions abroad.
- Operation Northwoods was proposed by military officials but rejected by Kennedy; it was not carried out.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Kennedy was never criminally charged or convicted.
- His administration was associated with CIA covert operations, but no court established that Kennedy personally committed a criminal offense.
- The Kennedy family’s wealth came largely from Joseph Kennedy’s business activities, including controversial financial dealings before JFK’s presidency, not from a presidential bankruptcy.
## Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963–1969
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Major escalation of the Vietnam War.
- Gulf of Tonkin claims helped justify war expansion, although later evidence showed the second alleged attack did not occur as originally reported.
- Extensive bombing of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
- Failure to achieve victory despite enormous military and civilian costs.
- The “credibility gap” caused by misleading official statements.
- FBI surveillance and disruption of civil-rights and antiwar groups.
- Inflation and social unrest associated with the costs of the war and Great Society programs.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Johnson was never criminally charged or convicted.
- His political machine in Texas was associated with election irregularities and corruption allegations, including controversies surrounding associates such as Billie Sol Estes and Bobby Baker.
- No established personal bankruptcy.
## Richard Nixon, 1969–1974
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Watergate break-in and cover-up.
- Abuse of federal agencies against political opponents.
- Secret bombing and military operations in Cambodia and Laos.
- Expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia.
- Wage and price controls.
- Secret domestic surveillance and political “enemies” operations.
- Mishandling of the Pentagon Papers and obstruction of investigations.
- Resigned rather than face almost-certain impeachment.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Nixon was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Watergate case but was never criminally tried.
- He received a pardon from President Ford before charges could be brought.
- Several senior aides and campaign officials were convicted or pleaded guilty, including John Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and Charles Colson.
- Nixon was not personally declared bankrupt.
## Gerald Ford, 1974–1977
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Pardoned Nixon, which many viewed as ending accountability for Watergate.
- Struggled with inflation, recession, and unemployment.
- “Whip Inflation Now” was widely regarded as ineffective.
- Continued controversial Cold War interventions.
- The Mayaguez incident involved a costly military rescue operation.
- Lost the 1976 election partly because of public distrust after Watergate.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Ford was never criminally charged or convicted.
- No known personal bankruptcy.
- His most consequential controversy was the Nixon pardon, a constitutional and political decision rather than a criminal act.
## Jimmy Carter, 1977–1981
**Policy failures and controversies**
- High inflation, interest rates, unemployment, and energy shortages.
- Failure to resolve the Iran hostage crisis.
- Failed Desert One rescue mission in Iran.
- Weak public communication and declining confidence in his leadership.
- Difficulty managing relations with Congress.
- Controversial response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
- The Three Mile Island accident damaged confidence in federal energy oversight, although it was not caused by Carter personally.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Carter was never criminally charged or convicted.
- The “Billygate” controversy involved his brother Billy Carter’s dealings with Libya, but Jimmy Carter was not shown to have committed a crime.
- Carter’s family peanut business experienced financial difficulties and was placed in a trust during his presidency; Carter was not personally declared bankrupt.
- The business later failed to repay loans fully, creating a financial controversy but not a criminal conviction.
## Ronald Reagan, 1981–1989
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Iran-Contra affair: arms were sold to Iran and funds were diverted to the Nicaraguan Contras despite congressional restrictions.
- Large increases in federal deficits and national debt.
- Inadequate early response to the AIDS epidemic.
- Controversial support for authoritarian governments.
- Economic inequality increased during the administration.
- Savings-and-loan crisis.
- Beirut Marine barracks bombing and subsequent withdrawal from Lebanon.
- Controversial “war on drugs” policies and mass incarceration.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Reagan was investigated in connection with Iran-Contra but was never criminally charged or convicted.
- National Security Adviser John Poindexter and aide Oliver North were convicted, although North’s convictions were later overturned; other officials were charged or pleaded guilty.
- President George H. W. Bush later pardoned several Iran-Contra defendants.
- No known presidential bankruptcy.
## George H. W. Bush, 1989–1993
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Recession and rising unemployment.
- Broke his “read my lips: no new taxes” pledge.
- Failed to win major domestic reforms in health care and immigration.
- Limited response to homelessness and social problems.
- Controversial handling of the savings-and-loan crisis.
- U.S. policy toward China after the Tiananmen Square massacre was criticized as too accommodating.
- Critics argued that the Gulf War ended without removing Saddam Hussein, leaving an unstable regional situation.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Bush was never criminally charged or convicted.
- The Iran-Contra controversy continued into his presidency; he pardoned several defendants.
- His administration was involved in the Iraqgate and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro controversy, although Bush was not convicted of wrongdoing.
- No personal bankruptcy.
## Bill Clinton, 1993–2001
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Failed 1993 health-care reform effort.
- Failure to intervene decisively in the Rwandan genocide.
- Controversial Somalia and Haiti policies.
- Failure to prevent al-Qaeda’s growth despite multiple attacks and warnings.
- Deregulation of finance and communications, which critics link to later market instability and media consolidation.
- Welfare reform criticized for reducing support for some poor families.
- Failure to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.
- Controversial 1998–1999 bombing campaign in Iraq.
- Impeachment by the House of Representatives.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Monica Lewinsky investigation; he was acquitted by the Senate and was not criminally convicted.
- He settled a civil sexual-harassment lawsuit brought by Paula Jones.
- Whitewater produced investigations but no criminal conviction of Bill Clinton.
- Several associates and officials were convicted in scandals connected to the administration, but that does not establish criminal conduct by Clinton himself.
- No personal bankruptcy.
## George W. Bush, 2001–2009
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Iraq War launched on incorrect claims about weapons of mass destruction and alleged ties to terrorism.
- Poor planning for the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq.
- Abu Ghraib, torture, extraordinary rendition, and indefinite detention.
- Failure to prevent or adequately manage Hurricane Katrina.
- Government response to the 2008 financial crisis and housing collapse.
- Large increases in federal debt.
- Failure to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.
- Expanded warrantless surveillance.
- Failure to capture Osama bin Laden during most of his presidency.
- Controversial privatization and contracting practices during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Bush was never criminally charged or convicted.
- Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, was convicted of perjury and obstruction; Bush commuted his prison sentence and later Trump pardoned him.
- Contractors such as Blackwater personnel were prosecuted for crimes connected to Iraq, but these were not convictions of Bush personally.
- Before and during politics, Bush was involved in failed oil ventures, including Arbusto Energy and Spectrum 7, but he was not personally declared bankrupt.
- The administration faced allegations of misleading Congress, but Bush was not criminally prosecuted.
## Barack Obama, 2009–2017
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Failed initial rollout of the Affordable Care Act website.
- Failure to close Guantánamo Bay.
- Continued mass surveillance and drone warfare.
- Inability to obtain comprehensive immigration reform.
- Libya intervention and the country’s subsequent instability.
- Limited response to the Syrian civil war and chemical-weapons crisis.
- Failure to prevent Russia’s seizure of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine.
- Continued U.S. involvement in Afghanistan despite limited prospects for victory.
- Increased partisan polarization.
- Controversial deportation policies despite campaign promises to reform immigration.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Obama was never criminally charged or convicted.
- His administration was criticized for prosecuting government leakers and whistleblowers aggressively.
- The IRS targeting controversy, Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation, and Benghazi investigations produced major political controversies but no criminal conviction of Obama.
- No personal bankruptcy.
## Donald J. Trump, first term, 2017–2021
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Poorly coordinated response to COVID-19 and inconsistent public-health messaging.
- Family-separation policy at the southern border.
- 2018–2019 government shutdown.
- Trade wars and tariffs that harmed some industries and required federal support.
- Withdrawal from or weakening of international agreements and alliances.
- Pressure on Ukraine to investigate a political opponent.
- First impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress; acquitted by the Senate.
- Attempts to overturn or discredit the 2020 election.
- Failure to ensure a peaceful transition of power.
- January 6 attack on the Capitol.
- Deregulatory policies criticized for weakening environmental and financial protections.
- Large increase in federal debt before and during the pandemic.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Trump was indicted in four criminal cases after leaving office.
- He was convicted in New York in 2024 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records; he was sentenced to an unconditional discharge, meaning no imprisonment, probation, or fine.
- He was found civilly liable for business fraud in New York, with the court imposing a large financial judgment against him and his companies.
- He was found liable in the E. Jean Carroll cases and ordered to pay substantial damages; these were civil judgments, not criminal convictions.
- Federal election-interference and classified-document cases were dismissed after he returned to office under the Justice Department’s policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
- The Georgia election case was also dismissed in 2025.
- Trump’s companies entered **six major Chapter 11 business bankruptcies** involving casino and hotel properties. These were corporate bankruptcies, not a personal bankruptcy. Chapter 11 is a reorganization process and is not itself evidence of criminal conduct.
- Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, although some of his companies have repeatedly used bankruptcy protection.
- The Trump Foundation was dissolved after a court found violations of New York charity law; Trump was ordered to pay damages and barred from operating a New York charitable organization.
## Joe Biden, 2021–2025
**Policy failures and controversies**
- Chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the deaths of U.S. service members and civilians at Abbey Gate.
- Inflation and housing-cost increases, although many causes were global and not under presidential control alone.
- Continued border and asylum-system problems.
- Failure to secure comprehensive immigration legislation.
- Age and fitness concerns, combined with weak public communication.
- Continued involvement in the Ukraine war with escalating financial and military costs.
- Policy toward Israel and Gaza criticized by both supporters and opponents.
- Failure to prevent or reduce political polarization.
- Late withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
- Student-loan policies repeatedly blocked or narrowed by courts.
- Failure to restore public confidence in federal institutions.
**Criminal dealings or financial misconduct**
- Joe Biden was not criminally charged or convicted as president.
- Republican investigations alleged improper influence involving Hunter Biden and other family members, but those investigations did not establish a criminal conviction against Joe Biden.
- Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun-related offenses and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges; those were his cases, not Joe Biden’s.
- No known personal bankruptcy by Joe Biden.
- Biden’s long-standing financial disclosures have not established criminal presidential misconduct.
## Donald J. Trump, second term, 2025–present
This term is ongoing, so some judgments remain provisional.
**Major policy failures and controversies alleged or already evident**
- Broad tariffs that increased uncertainty and raised costs for consumers, importers, and businesses.
- Abrupt immigration enforcement and deportation policies criticized for inadequate due process and humanitarian consequences.
- Large federal workforce and agency reductions that critics argue weaken government capacity.
- Disruptions to foreign aid and international assistance programs.
- Confrontations with courts, Congress, universities, media organizations, and independent agencies.
- Attempts to place greater presidential control over traditionally independent institutions.
- Politicization of federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
- Conflicts-of-interest concerns involving presidential businesses, political donors, cryptocurrency ventures, and government-linked commercial activity.
- Policy reversals and rapidly changing executive orders that create uncertainty.
- Reduced cooperation with allies and international institutions.
- Continued political pressure surrounding the 2020 election and the criminal and civil cases against Trump.
- Increased constitutional conflict over executive authority, immigration, spending, and agency independence.
**Criminal dealings, bankruptcies, and legal status**
- Trump’s prior New York felony conviction, civil fraud judgment, Carroll judgments, and corporate bankruptcies remain part of his legal and financial record.
- The president has not been personally declared bankrupt.
- His companies have used Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings multiple times.
- The second term itself does not automatically create new criminal liability for presidential decisions; alleged wrongdoing must be investigated and established in court.
- Executive orders, controversial policies, and political conflicts should not be labeled criminal unless a court or legally responsible authority establishes that they violated criminal law.
