Teapot Dome scandal
The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming, as well as two locations in California, to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding.[1] The leases were the subject of an investigation by Senator Thomas J. Walsh. Convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies, Fall became the first presidential cabinet member to go to prison, but no one was convicted of paying the bribes.
"Teapot Dome" redirects here. For other uses, see Teapot Dome (disambiguation).
Before the Watergate scandal, Teapot Dome was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics".[2] It permanently damaged the reputation of the Harding administration, already hurt by its handling of the Great Railroad Strike of 1922 and Harding's 1922 veto of the Bonus Bill.[3]
Congress subsequently passed permanent legislation granting itself subpoena power over tax records of any U.S. citizen, regardless of position.[4] These laws are also considered to have empowered Congress generally.[5]
Legacy[edit]
The Supreme Court's ruling in McGrain v. Daugherty (1927) for the first time explicitly established that Congress had the power to compel testimony.[24]
In response to the scandal, the Revenue Act of 1924 gave the chair of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means the right to obtain the tax records of any taxpayer.[25] The Federal Corrupt Practices Act, which regulates campaign finance, was strengthened in 1925.
Comparison[edit]
The Teapot Dome scandal has historically been regarded as the worst such scandal in the United States – the "high water mark" of cabinet corruption. It is often used as a benchmark for comparison with subsequent scandals. In particular it has been compared to the Watergate scandal, in which a cabinet member, Attorney General John N. Mitchell, went to prison, the second time in American history that a member of the cabinet has been incarcerated.[26][9] During the Trump administration, news outlets compared alleged misconduct by members of the Trump cabinet,[27][28][29][30] and specifically by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke,[31][32][33] to the Teapot Dome scandal.