A look back at the biggest presidential Thanksgiving scandals, surprises

By Fox News · Fox News

Thanksgiving typically slows the news as Americans gather with family and friends. But the holiday also has a habit of amplifying Washington, D.C.'s political drama and surprises. Americans are no strangers to controversies and scandals, including a handful that have played out across the decades as citizens gathered around the dinner table for Thanksgiving or headed out for Black Friday shopping. Fox News Digital took a look back at the biggest scandals and political events that rocked Washington, D.C., around the fall holiday. The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 1973, then-President Richard Nixon held a press conference in Orlando, Florida, where he famously said he was not a "crook" as the Watergate break-in and subsequent scandal came to light. At the heart of the scandal were Nixon’s efforts to obstruct justice by directing a cover-up of the Watergate office complex break-in, including suppressing the FBI’s investigation, paying hush money and misusing federal agencies to shield his administration from scrutiny. As the scandal surrounding the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters heated up, Nixon defended himself in a televised Q&A with newspaper editors gathered at Walt Disney World for a convention. "Let me just say this, and I want to say this to the television audience: I made my mistakes, but in all of my years of public life, I have never profited, never profited from public service — I have earned every cent," Nixon said, initially answering questions surrounding his personal finances. "And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice." "And I think, too, that I could say that in my years of public life, that I welcome this kind of examination, because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook. I have earned everything I have got," he continued. Nixon ultimately resigned in August 1974, as the impeachment process was underway and a grand jury prepared to indic…