History Main / ResignedInDisgrace

* In 2006, the Republican Party was bogged down in a series of scandals. The Democrats used this to lampoon them as a bunch of apathetic grifters mooching off the public, what with the Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal and other controversies such as the Iraq War, a slowing economy, the government's poor response to Hurricane Katrina, and a bungled attempt to privatize Social Security.

** Mark Foley (R-FL) called it quits because he allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to Congressional pages and interns. In 2008, the case was thrown out and the charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence. Because of her ties to Foley, Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY) lost to Democratic challenger John Hall when she refused to show up at a televised debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters. That the Republican leadership knew of Foley's lewd conduct and did nothing played a major role in the Democrats portraying the GOP as a party riddled with corruption. In fact, many cited this as the reason why they lost the 2006 Congressional elections.

* In 2006, the Republican Party found itself embroiled in several political corruption scandals. The Democrats used this to lampoon the GOP as a bunch of grifters mooching off the public, what with the Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal and other controversies such as the war in Iraq, the government's poor response to Hurricane Katrina, a bungled attempt to privatize Social Security, and the Plame affair.

** Mark Foley (R-FL) called it quits because he allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to Congressional pages and interns. In 2008, the case was thrown out and the charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence. Because of her ties to Foley, Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY) lost to Democratic challenger John Hall when she refused to show up at a televised debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

* In 2006, the Republican Party found itself embroiled in a series of political scandals, which led to them losing the House and the Senate. The Democrats used this to portray the GOP as full of corrupt politicians as the Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal, the Jerry Lewis – Lowery lobbying firm controversy, Plame affair and
** In November 2005, Duke Cunningham (R-CA) resigned after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion, stemming from the fact that he accepted bribes from defense contractors in exchange for political favors. He was sentenced to over eight years in prison and an order to pay $1.8 million in restitution, but was pardoned by President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump in 2021.
** House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) resigned from the House because a Texas court charged him of violating campaign finance laws and money laundering. DeLay pleaded not guilty, claiming political motivation for the charges, but was found guilty in 2010. His conviction was overturned in 2013 due to insufficient evidence.
** Mark Foley (R-FL) called it quits because he allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to Congressional pages and interns. In 2008, the case was thrown out and the charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence.

* After the 2021 U.S. Capitol storming[[note]]in which a far-right mob, egged on by then-President Trump, violently attempted to stop Congress from formalizing Joe Biden's victory. Before this, Trump [[SoreLoser baselessly cried foul]] and filed over 70 {{frivolous lawsuit}}s against the swing states he lost in an unprecedented effort to flip the 2020 election[[/note]], several of President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's cabinet members resigned ''en masse'' even though their terms were set to end on January 20, 2021. Others held on to ensure a smooth transition of power to the incoming UsefulNotes/JoeBiden administration, fearing that Trump could install cronies who would do his bidding and incite more chaos. An attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from power failed as there wasn't enough support, nor were there enough votes in the Senate to convict him during his second impeachment trial.

* After the 2021 U.S. Capitol storming[[note]]in which a far-right mob, egged on by then-President Trump, violently attempted to stop Congress from formalizing UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory. Before this, Trump [[SoreLoser baselessly cried foul]] and filed over 70 {{frivolous lawsuit}}s against the swing states he lost in an unprecedented effort to flip the 2020 election[[/note]], several of President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's cabinet members resigned ''en masse'' even though their terms were set to end on January 20, 2021. Others held on to ensure a smooth transition of power, fearing that Trump could install cronies who would do his bidding and incite more chaos. An attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from power failed as there wasn't enough support, nor were there enough votes in the Senate to ban him from holding office during his second impeachment trial.

* After the 2021 U.S. Capitol storming[[note]]in which a far-right mob, egged on by then-President Trump, violently attempted to stymie the Electoral College proceedings to stop Congress from formalizing UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory. Before this, Trump [[SoreLoser baselessly cried foul]] and filed over 70 {{frivolous lawsuit}}s against the swing states he lost in an unprecedented effort to flip the 2020 election[[/note]], several of President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's cabinet members resigned ''en masse'' even though their terms were set to end on January 20, 2021. Others held on to ensure a smooth transition of power, fearing that Trump could install cronies who would do his bidding and incite more chaos. An attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from power failed as there wasn't enough support, nor were there enough votes in the Senate to ban him from holding office during his second impeachment trial.

* ''Series/{{Endeavour}}'': The very first episode features [[SleazyPolitician Richard Lovell]], a respected government minister with a taste for prostitutes (including several underage teenage girls). When one is murdered and throws a spotlight on the issue, he initially believes he'll get through it with his career intact thanks to MI5 covering up his involvement. However, in the climax, [[TheMenInBlack Agent Dempsey]] reveals that the government has deemed him too big a liability and he's been instructed to take early retirement. When he tries to protest, Dempsey makes it clear his orders come from Harold Wilson himself and if he does not agree, he'll shoot him dead on the spot and frame it as a burglary gone wrong.

* In the wake of the 2021 U.S. Capitol storming[[note]]in which a far-right mob, egged on by then-President Trump, attempted to stymie the Electoral College proceedings to formalize UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory. Before this, Trump filed over 70 {{frivolous lawsuit}}s against the swing states he lost in an unprecedented effort to flip the 2020 election and [[SoreLoser baselessly cried foul]] when he lost[[/note]], several of President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's cabinet members resigned ''en masse'' in shame even though their terms were set to end on January 20, 2021. Others held on to ensure a smooth transition of power, fearing that Trump could install cronies who would do his bidding and incite more chaos. Attempts to invoke the 25th Amendment and declare Trump unfit for office failed as there wasn't enough support.

* In the wake of the 2021 U.S. Capitol storming[[note]]in which a far-right mob, egged on by then-President Trump, attempted to stymie the Electoral College proceedings to formalize UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory. Before this, Trump filed over 70 {{frivolous lawsuit}}s against the swing states he lost in an unprecedented effort to flip the 2020 election and [[SoreLoser baselessly cried foul]] when he lost[[/note]], several of President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's cabinet members resigned ''en masse'' in shame even though their terms were set to end on January 20, 2021. Others held on to ensure a smooth transition of power, fearing that Trump could install cronies who would carry out illegal orders given by him. Attempts to invoke the 25th Amendment and declare Trump unfit for office failed as there wasn't enough support.

* In the wake of the 2021 U.S. Capitol storming[[note]]in which a far-right mob, egged on by then-President Trump, attempted to stymie the Electoral College proceedings to formalize UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory. Before this, Trump filed over 70 {{frivolous lawsuit}}s against the swing states he lost in an unprecedented effort to flip the 200 election and [[SoreLoser baselessly cried foul]] when he lost[[/note]], several of President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's cabinet members resigned ''en masse'' in shame even though their terms were set to end on January 20, 2021. Others stayed on to ensure a smooth transition of power, fearing that Trump could replace them with cronies who would carry out illegal orders given by him. Attempts to invoke the 25th Amendment and declare Trump unfit for office failed as there wasn't enough support.

* In the wake of the 2021 U.S. Capitol storming[[note]]in which a far-right mob, egged on by then-President Donald Trump, attempted to stymie the Electoral College proceedings to formalize UsefulNotes/JoeBiden's victory. Before this, Trump filed over 70 {{frivolous lawsuit}}s against the swing states he lost in 2020 in an unprecedented effort to flip the election and baselessly cried foul[[/note]], several of President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's cabinet resigned ''en masse'' in shame even though their terms were set to end on January 20, 2021. Other Cabinet members lingered on to ensure a smooth transition of power to the incoming Biden administration, fearing that Trump would replace them with cronies who they feared could carry out illegal orders given by him. There were also attempts to invoke the 25th Amendment and declare Trump unfit for office, but there wasn't enough support to put this in motion.

** Carefully avoided by Commissioner Burrell himself in season 5. The new mayor, Eric Carcetti, was already planning to give Burrell the boot and promote Bill Rawls when a major scandal with the murder of a state's witness gives him ample opportunity to do so. However, Burrell refuses and tells Carcetti that he will have to fire him, knowing that the white mayor replacing a black commissioner with his white deputy would look extremely bad in a majority-black city (the minority community leaders are willing to tolerate one or the other, but not both). Carcetti has to settle for making Burrell a figurehead still drawing a hefty salary for doing essentially nothing with Rawls running the day to day operations, and when he does resign, it's because he's been bribed with a better job elsewhere.

** Carefully avoided by Commissioner Burrell himself in season 5. The new mayor, Eric Carcetti, was already planning to give Burrell the boot when a major scandal with the murder of a state's witness gives him ample opportunity to do so. However, Burrell refuses and tells Carcetti that he will have to fire him, knowing that the white mayor replacing a black commissioner with his white deputy would look extremely bad in a majority-black city (the minority community leaders are willing to tolerate one or the other, but not both). Carcetti has to settle for making Burrell a figurehead still drawing a hefty salary for doing essentially nothing, and when he does resign, it's because he's been bribed with a better job elsewhere.

* In ''Film/GoldenEye'', it's something of a plot point. Gen. Arkady Ouromov, Russia's head of Space Division, tenders his resignation after the destruction of the Severnaya Satellite Facility, which he had perpetrated to cover up his taking of the security keys to fire the titular [=GoldenEye=] satellite. His resignation is not accepted, however, though it's ultimately futile as he's killed by Bond within days. In fact, it's a bit of a mystery how he ended up in this position in the first place, since he previously oversaw the destruction of a massive chemical weapons factory at Bond's hands when he was a Colonel, which wouldn't have done wonders to his career.

* In ''Film/GoldenEye'', it's something of a plot point. Gen. Arkady Ouromov, Russia's head of Space Division, tenders his resignation after the destruction of the Severnaya Satellite Facility, which he had perpetrated to cover up his taking of the security keys to fire the titular [=GoldenEye=] satellite. His resignation is not accepted, however, though it's ultimately futile as he's killed by Bond within days.

* In the ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' movie, Sky Marshall Dienes resigns after the full frontal assault he ordered on the planet Klendatu ends in failure, with the invasion force forced to retreat and several hundred thousand soldiers dead in the operation (a propaganda clip says 100,000 died in one hour, but the casualty list on a hospital bay aboard a space station lists the total at over 300,000).

The administrative counterpart to the RoleEndingMisdemeanor, a character who must resign in disgrace is usually (but not always) a high-ranking business figure or government official caught in the midst of a scandal: regardless of whether the scandal was actually their fault or not (or even if the rumors were unfounded, or they were acquitted, or what have you), the crisis has undermined their position too badly for their work to continue.

In some cases, this might be the beginning of a new path in life, maybe even an opportunity for [[HesBack a dramatic comeback]] if the character was falsely accused. However, in all many cases, resigning in disgrace is a long and embarrassing descent into ignominious defeat.

** Subverted in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E16DrBashirIPresume Dr Bashir, I Presume]]," Julian Bashir is found to be have been genetically-enhanced in childhood in order to correct an intellectual disability. Unfortunately, thanks to the example set by the Eugenics Wars, [[FantasticRacism augments are barred from working in Starfleet or practising medicine]], meaning that Julian is going to be kicked out as soon as this detail is reported to Starfleet. Instead, Julian plans to resign before the news breaks and exit with his dignity intact... but to his surprise, his estranged father takes the fall by turning himself in for the illegal enhancement, agreeing to serve two years in prison in exchange for Julian getting to stay on at Starfleet.

* By the end of ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', [[spoiler: Norman Osborn has been forced to resign in disgrace from his position of Mayor of New York, having been undermined by the many civil rights infractions committed by [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Sable International]] in his efforts to regain control of the city, his total failure to stop the Sinister Six, and his personal role in the creation of [[SyntheticPlague Devil's Breath]]. For good measure, [[MegaCorp Oscorp]] has suffered critical damage from the incident, and the only reason why Osborn hasn't ended up in jail is because nobody knows about the integral part he played in the creation of Mr Negative and Dr Octopus.]]

* In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost" two-parter, InsaneAdmiral Leyton attempts a coup against President Jaresh-Inyo. Once it becomes clear that Sisko and his crew have thwarted his plans, however, he quietly takes off his admiral's bars and resigns.

** The first half of the first season is concerned with [[VillainProtagonist Francis Urquhart]]'s efforts to force Prime Minister Henry Collingridge out of office by engineering a series of humiliating scandals - the last of which results in Henry's brother Charles being accused of insider trading, with the PM being considered complicit as a result. Worn down by weeks of uninterrupted shame, Henry resigns from his post, allowing Urquhart and the other ministers to begin jockeying for his position... but not before Urquhart [[KickTheDog leaks the news of his resignation to the media ahead of Henry's planned announcement]], leaving the ex-PM unable to take the dignified exit he'd hoped for.
** In ''The Final Cut,'' Francis himself begins facing near-unanimous calls for him to resign as Prime Minister after an incident in Cyprus ends with his orders to the army directly resulting in the deaths of several children. Plus, [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty his own dirty dealings throughout the show are due to be revealed to the public]]. [[spoiler: However, he never gets that far: [[LadyMacBeth his wife]] has him assassinated in order to save his reputation and her retirement fund.]]

* [[SmugSnake Vice-President Robert Kinsey]] of ''Series/StargateSG1'' finally ends up facing the music for his shady dealings throughout the series when Richard Woolsey reveals his corruption to President Hayes. Following a botched attempt to take over Stargate Command, Kinsey is forced to resign -- and Hayes makes it abundantly clear that the other option is being executed for treason.

** The show begins with [[DecoyProtagonist Cliff Lawton]] being forced to resign as Secretary of State for Social Affairs, having become the subject of an embarrassing screw-up; with the government not wanting to look weak in the face of media scrutiny, [[MagnificentBastard Malcolm Tucker]] arranges for Lawton to make it look as if he jumped instead of being pushed - arranging his farewell and letter of resignation twenty minutes before even ''telling'' Lawton.
** During the first season, [[PointyHairedBoss Hugh Abbott]] becomes embroiled in a scandal when his clumsy attempts to sell his second home end up [[MistakenForRacist making him look prejudiced against Asian buyers]], and it's not long before Malcolm floats the idea of having him resign to spare the government further trouble. Hugh refuses at first, only to realize that doing so would actually improve his reputation; by the time he gets around to trying, he finds that [[TheAce Dan Miller]] has already beaten him to it and gained a ton of brownie points as a result.
** In the final episodes of season three, Malcolm ends up in conflict with [[SmugSnake Steve Fleming]], a chief whip out for revenge after becoming a victim of this trope. During a scandal over botched crime statistics, Fleming is able to use Malcolm as a scapegoat for the crisis and force him to resign - [[HoistByHisOwnPetard even recycling his own tactic of leaking the resignation to the media before telling him about it]]. However...
** ...in the season finale, [[FriendlyEnemy Julius Nicholson]] reinstates Malcolm as Director of Communications in order to prevent Dan Miller's attempted takeover, promising to pardon him and Fleming of all wrongdoing in his official report... [[XanatosSpeedChess only for Malcolm to spread a rumour that the report is going to pin the blame entirely on Fleming]], eventually prompting the ex-whip to confront Nicholson -- not realizing that a journalist has been tipped off about their meeting and is photographing everything - making it look as if Fleming was trying to influence the report. Consequently, Fleming is scapegoated for the entire incident and forced to resign.
** As part of a scheme to replace Nicola Murray with a more competent Opposition Leader who can get the party back into power, Malcolm exploits the recent suicide of homeless nurse Douglas Tickell to shake things up: first, he baits the predictably overambitious [[FatIdiot Ben Swain]] into resigning in an effort to undermine Nicola's leadership; then he encourages her to call for an enquiry into Tickell's death [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles so Swain's resignation will be overlooked by the media]]; finally, he has Glenn Cullen leak an email in which both Ben and Nicola voiced support for the housing act that resulted in Tickell becoming homeless in the first place. As a result, the inquiry is set to screw over the government and give the Opposition a chance to take over, Ben is left resigning in disgrace instead of in protest, and Nicola has no choice but to bow out with her career prospects in tatters.

* ''Videogame/DeusExHumanRevolution'': Protagonist Adam Jensen was involved in a scandal known as the "Mexicantown Massacre" prior to the events of the game. While working as part of a SWAT team, he refused to carry out an order to gun down a 15-year-old criminal, and when the order was carried out instead by his colleague Wayne Haas, the resulting negative press led to violent city-wide riots. Jensen resigned from SWAT in an attempt to preserve his dignity, only for his superiors to pin the entire incident on him and promote Haas into his post.
* By the end of ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', [[spoiler: Norman Osborn has been forced to resign in disgrace from his position of Mayor of New York, having been undermined by the many civil rights infractions committed by [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Sable International]] in his efforts to regain control of the city, his failure to stop the Sinister Six, and his personal role in the creation of [[SyntheticPlague Devil's Breath]]. For good measure, [[MegaCorp Oscorp]] has suffered critical damage from the incident, and the only reason why Osborn hasn't ended up in jail is because nobody knows about the integral part he played in the creation of Mr Negative and Dr Octopus.]]
* ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'': Sam Porter Bridges', the protagonist, wife commits a suicide, causing the entire town to blow up, since in this universe a necrotised dead body pretty much acts like an antimatter bomb. Sam was the only survivor due to his ability to repatriate, which basically means he can come back from death. People started to suspect he killed his wife and hid her body to trigger a voidout on purpose and that he's actually a terrorist sympathiser. He resigns from the organisation called BRIDGES that acts essentially like a post apocalyptic government. [[spoiler: During the game you can unlock a goodbye letter from Lucy, his wife, where she admits that she indeed committed a suicide, and Sam had nothing to do with her death.]]

* U.S. President [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Richard Nixon]]'s resignation from office in 1974 came in the wake of the Watergate scandal, in which it was discovered that Nixon was behind a whole lot of crimes against the Democratic National Committee during his reelection campaign and against the American people as a whole. If he hadn't resigned, the nature of his crimes would have gotten him impeached and convicted by the Senate, resulting in his removal from office anyway.
* Nixon's Vice President, Spiro Agnew, had been forced to resign the previous year after federal prosecutors found that he had accepted kickbacks and bribes from construction contracts when he was a Baltimore County executive and then Governor of Maryland. Agnew agreed to resign and plead no contest rather than stand trial for tax fraud and bribery. Nixon then appointed Congressman Gerald Ford to replace Agnew as VP, who then replaced Nixon when ''he'' resigned thus making Ford the only person in American history to become President without ever being elected to either office.

** In season 3, Major "Bunny" Colvin, the Police Commander of the Western District of Baltimore, realizes it's impossible to meet the demands from his superiors for lowering crime and simultaneously fight a war on drugs. He effectively legalizes drugs in three "free zones" and moves all drug traffickers there without informing his bosses downtown. When word gets out, Burrell and Rawls, worrying it's going to be blamed on them, blackmail Colvin into becoming the fall guy, demoting him to Lieutenant and forcing him to resign.

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': In "[[Recap/MonkS2E9MrMonkAndTheTwelfthMan Mr. Monk and the Twelfth Man", Deputy Mayor Kenny Shale ignores his girlfriend Sharona's warnings that Monk has just realized the twelfth juror is not the murderer, wanting to show off to the press by declaring that he has the serial killer in custody. After Stottlemeyer arrests the Babcocks, the news breaks, and Kenny winds up stepping down due to the scandal.

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'', Remus Lupin resigns from his post as Hogwarts' Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher after being outed as a werewolf; though no complaints or demands are ever issued, he knows it's only a matter of time before [[FantasticRacism parents protest a werewolf teaching their children]], so he decides to bow out before the scandal gets going.
** By the events of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', Minister for Magic [[HeadInTheSandManagement Cornelius Fudge]] is facing down the full consequences of spending the previous book denying Voldemort's return and being proven horrifically wrong. Having totaled his reputation and cemented his legacy as a DirtyCoward and one of the worst Ministers for Magic in recorded history, he's forced to resign less than two weeks after the scandal breaks.

* ''Series/TheWire'': In season 3, Major "Bunny" Colvin, the Police Commander of the Western District of Baltimore, realizes it's impossible to meet the demands from his superiors for lowering crime and simultaneously fight a war on drugs. He effectively legalizes drugs in three "free zones" and moves all drug traffickers there without informing his bosses downtown. When word gets out, Chief Burrell and Deputy Chief Rawls, worrying it's going to be blamed on them, blackmail Colvin into becoming the fall guy, demoting him to Lieutenant and forcing him to resign.