Today, we take a look at a crucial, and surprisingly overlooked chapter of fairly recent American history.
The story revolves around Spiro Agnew, who was Richard Nixon’s vice president until he resigned after pleading no contest to tax evasion and fraud charges. Agnew, of course, was also a Baltimorean -- he was born and raised in the city and he served as Baltimore County Executive and Governor of Maryland before being tapped as Nixon’s running mate in 1968.
And as we are deftly reminded in "Bag Man," a podcast hosted by Rachel Maddow, Agnew’s resignation in October 1973 was still linked in a very important way to the resignation of President Nixon the following summer.
Tim Baker was an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland in the 1970s. He was part of the team of lawyers who investigated corruption in the Baltimore County Executive’s office, which set off a chain of events that eventually led to Spiro Agnew’s resignation as Vice President. Mike Yarvitz is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning TV producer and the Executive Producer of “Bag Man,” which he co-wrote with Rachel Maddow.
