Home > History Fact Finder > Law and Famous Trials - What Was Abscam?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page
4. Tweet This

What was ABSCAM?

ABSCAM was an undercover operation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to find corrupt government officials and prosecute them. In 1978 agents began posing as American representatives of Arab businessmen whose company, the fictitious Abdul Enterprises Limited, was willing to buy political influence (pay politicians for favors or business advantages) in the United States. (ABSCAM comes from the first two letters of the business name, with the word "scam," meaning an illegal scheme, added to the end.) The trap was set. The first to be caught was Congressman Michael J. Myers (1943– ) of Pennsylvania, who was videotaped accepting a $50,000 bribe and saying, "I'm going to tell you something real simple and short—money talks in this business." Other officials were trapped in the FBI operation; all of them were arrested on charges of bribery and conspiracy. The first of seven trials got under way in...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Law
   1. What was the Justinian Code?
   2. What is civil law?
   3. What is common law?
   4. What is the only U.S. state that does not use common law?
   5. What was trial by ordeal?
   6. What is writ of habeas corpus?
   7. What is international law?
   8. What was the Code Napoleon?
   9. How was the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court determined?
   10. Who was the first justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?
   11. What were Jim Crow laws?
   12. What is the Miranda warning?
2. Trials
   1. What was the impact of the Salem witch trials on American society?
   2. What was the significance of the John Peter Zenger trial?
   3. How did the Dred Scott case contribute to outbreak of the Civil War?
   4. Why was Susan B. Anthony put on trial?
   5. Who were Leopold and Loeb?
   6. Who was Mata Hari?
   7. What was the beer hall putsch trial and why was it important?
   8. What was the Scopes "Monkey Trial"?
   9. Why is the court-martial of Billy Mitchell famous?
   10. Was Al Capone tried for mob activities?
   11. What were the Nuremberg trials?
   12. Why were the Rosenbergs executed?
   13. What was the lasting effect of the Clarence Earl Gideon trials?
   14. Why was Nelson Mandela sent to prison?
   15. What was Roe vs. Wade?
   16. What was ABSCAM?
   17. Did a dingo kill Azaria Chamberlain?
   18. What was meant by "the" trial of the twentieth century?