In the months leading up to that conflict, Southern senators resigned en masse from the U.S. Senate over disputes about slavery. In January 1861, five senators in one day left their jobs as their states seceded from the Union. If anything, the Abscam scandal highlights just how unusual this week's resignations were from the normal pattern of scandal in Congress. In the Abscam scandal, former senator Harrison Williamson (D-N.J.) stayed on the job for months even after his conviction. It's not clear that there's the political will in Congress to expel him if and when he gets to Washington.)

Source: Washington Post December 08, 2017 19:57 UTC