Political Investigation in the United States

Witch Hunt (in Politics)

Related to political science, the following is a definition of Witch Hunt in the U.S. practice of politics: A politically-motivated, often vindictive investigation that feeds on public fears.

The term refers to the witch hunts in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, where many innocent women accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake or drowned.

Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s (R-WI) search for Communists in the federal government during the 1950s is often referred to as a witch hunt.