AGNEW BECOMES 2ND VICE-PRESIDENT IN HISTORY TO RESIGN HIS OFFICE
ashington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 10, 1973, Spiro T. Agnew* resigned the office of Vice-President of the United States after having plead 'no contest' to charges of income tax evasion.
Mr. Agnew had taken kickbacks from contractors as Baltimore County executive and as VPOTUS. He opted to take a 'plea deal' in which he could claim innocence of corruption while not challenging the charge of income tax evasion.
David L. Porter says that the event illustrates that in the United States "no individual...is above the law."
*Spiro Theodore Agnew (1918-1996) was born in Baltimore, Maryland & attended Johns Hopkins University & University of Baltimore School of Law. STA served as governor of Maryland 1967-1969 & VPOTUS 1969-1973.
JFK+50 NOTE
Spiro T. Agnew was fined $10,000, given 3 years probation and was disbarred by the Maryland Court of Appeals. President Richard M. Nixon, acting under the 25th amendment, appointed Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to the Vice-Presidency. Nixon, marred in the Watergate scandal, resigned in August 1974 making Mr. Ford POTUS.
Agnew was only the second Vice-President in history to resign his office, the first was John C. Calhoun of South Carolina in 1832.
SOURCES
"Spiro T. Agnew Resigns Vice-Presidency in Disgrace," by David L. Porter, 2022, EBSCO, www.ebsco.com/
"Vice-President Agnew Resigns," JFK+50, October 10, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/
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