Teapot Dome Scandal
- continued 4
By 1924, the Committee had only one unanswered
question: How did Fall become so rich so quickly? Any money from the bribes went to Fall's
cattle ranch along with investments
in his business. Finally, as the investigation was winding down and preparing to declare Fall
innocent, Walsh uncovered one piece of evidence Fall had forgotten to cover up: Doheny's
loan to Fall in November 1921, in the amount of $100,000.Walsh became a national
hero and figurehead for the fight against government corruption. The investigation led to a series of civil
and criminal suits related to the
scandal throughout the 1920s. Finally in 1927 the Supreme Court ruled that the oil leases had been
corruptly obtained and invalidated the Elk Hills lease in February of that year and
the Teapot lease in October of the same year. The Navy regained control of the Teapot
Dome and Elk Hills reserves as a result of the Court's decision. Another
significant outcome was the Supreme Court case McGrain vs. Daugherty which, for the first time,
explicitly established Congress' right to compel testimony. Albert Fall was found guilty of bribery
in 1929, fined $100,000 and
sentenced to one year in prison, making him the first Presidential cabinet member to go to prison for his
actions in office. Harry Sinclair, who refused to cooperate with the government investigators, was
charged with contempt, fined
$100,000, and received a short sentence for tampering with the jury. Edward Doheny was acquitted
in 1930 of attempting to bribe Fall.