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.