Five Senators involved in the Keating Affair

The "Keating Affair" or "Keating Five Scandal" occurred in the 1980s. Five U.S. Senators were accused of pressuring the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to expedite the case of Charles Keating Jr. and give more consideration to Keating's concerns. Charles Keating Jr. ran the California-based Lincoln Savings and Loan. The Senate ethics committee held hearings on what should be done with the five senators involved.

On February 27,1991 a decision was reached that only Senator Alan Cranston had engaged in "impermissible conduct" with the other four senators off the hook. John McCain was ruled the least culpable of the senators. The findings came after a 14-month investigation detailing how more than $1 million in contributions, four trips to the Bahamas and all-expenses-paid stays at resort hotels found their way from indicted savings and loan executive Charles Keating, who needed protection from federal regulators trying to shut him down, to five U.S. Senators and their staffs.

The five Senators involved in the Keating Affair:

John McCain (R) Arizona
Alan Cranston (D) California
Donald W. Riegle Jr. (D) Michigan
John Glenn (D) Ohio
Dennis DeConcini (D) Arizona

Sources: 

Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, January 19, 1991. Page 169.

"Decision in Keating Five case settles little for Senate." Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. March 2, 1991. Page 517.

"Then there was one." Time. March 11, 1991. Page 69.


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