Ethics in Government Example Cases

Ethics in Government - Example Cases

by John Bandler

This page allows for some links for additional research regarding case examples of ethics in government.

As we cover, a nation of laws means fair rules and fair processes, not a monarchy, dictatorship, oligarchy, or system where government officials can enrich themselves, their friends, and their family. That requires attention to ethics.

President Richard M. Nixon

• Individuals doing illegal acts with the goal of furthering President Nixon’s reelection campaign.
• Illegal acts to cover it up.

NYS Governor Elliot Spitzer

• Patronizing a prostitute, including on official trips.
• Is this a personal or official failing, or both?

NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo

• Alleged unwanted touching and advances, including in the government workplace.
• Is this a personal or official failing, or both?

Judge Stewart Rosenwasser, Orange County, New York State

Lawyer becomes an elected judge (I actually voted for him, unfortunately), then goes back into private practice, then becomes a prosecutor, and lies about his prior client and accepts a bribe to prosecute a case. Federal prosecutors indict him and he kills himself as the FBI is coming to arrest him.

• Indictment: U.S. vs. Rosenwasser and Soudani
• Christopher Maag, The Story of Sexual Abuse, Bribery and Suicide That Shocked a Small Town, New York Times, May 15, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/nyregion/soudani-rosenwasser-corruption-abuse.html
• Mike Randall, Ex-prosecutor Rosenwasser was accused of taking bribes in allegedly fraudulent prosecution, Middletown Times Herald-Record, Sept 27, 2024, https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/2024/09/27/ex-orange-county-judge-was-facing-federal-indictment-rosenwasser-suicide-fbi/75399545007/
• Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, Ex-NY judge Stewart Rosenwasser, who killed himself after FBI shootout, linked to bribery scandal through damning checks and texts, NY Post, Sep 26, 2024,
  https://nypost.com/2024/09/26/us-news/ex-nys-judge-who-died-in-fbi-shootout-linked-to-bribery-scandal-through-damning-checks-texts/
• Aaron Katersky, Retired NY judge kills self at home as FBI arrive to arrest him, ABC News, Sept 25, 2024, https://6abc.com/post/retired-new-york-judge-stewart-rosenwasser-kills-campbell-hall-orange-county-home-fbi-arrive-arrest/15349491/

 

NYC Mayor Eric Adams

• The criminal charges and allegations of corruption
• The manner in which this criminal prosecution was handled
• See my page on this: Prosecutor Resignations Regarding Case of Mayor Eric Adams

Current and past presidents

Assertions of corruption, criminal behavior, unethical behavior, or not regarding:

• President Bill Clinton
• President George W. Bush
• President Barack Obama
• President Donald Trump
• President Joe Biden
• President Donald Trump

My free online course for ethics in government

I built an online course on ethics in government on the Udemy platform.

This course is introductory and free, and under two hours of lecture.

How many people can I reach who can learn about the importance of ethics for our government officials?

Conclusion

Ethics in government is essential. Otherwise we have people in government serving themselves, not the people they were elected and hired to serve.

In a democracy where voters elect important government officials, ethics should be the top criteria.

Ethics in government can be a highly subjective area, but reasonable people can agree on some reasonable principles.

Evaluate each case not based on what party they are from, but from an objective standpoint.

This short article is not tailored to your circumstances and is not legal or consulting advice.

Additional reading and learning

• Ethics in Government (my main page on this topic with more references)
• Ethics
• John's course on Ethics in Government at Udemy (coming soon)
• Prosecutor Resignations Regarding Case of Mayor Eric Adams
• IGPA resources (coming soon)
• Santa Clara University (SCU) Markkula Center for Applied Ethics resources
  • Voting for Ethics, https://www.scu.edu/voting-for-ethics/
  • SCU Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/
  • Ethical Decision Making, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/
  • Government Ethics, https://www.scu.edu/government-ethics/

This article is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/ethics-in-government-example-cases, copyright John Bandler, all rights reserved.

Originally posted 8/16/2025, updated 8/16/2025.