Evening star., 1924-04-12
Disputes Power of Senate to
Require Answers to Ques-
tions on Oil Leases.
CONTEMPT CERTIFICATE
ILLEGAL, HE CONTENDS
Demurrer and Motion to Quash
Expected to Come Up
April 25.

Harry +. sinclair, mllilOnaire OIL
magnate, who refused to answer ques-
tions propounded to him by the Tea
pot Dome investigating committee
March % last. today filed in the Dis
trict Supreme Court a demurrer and a
motion to Quash the indictment for
alleged contempt of the United States
Senate, which was reported against
him by the local grand jury, March
81. Hearing on the demurrer and mo-
ton to quash will probably be sched-
uled fo rthe next motion day of the
court, April %.
Sinclair attacked the power or au-
thority of the Senate to require an
swers to the questions, and asserts
that his refusal to answer was not in
violation of any law of the United
States and cannot subject him to a
criminal prosecution. If the Senate
lSeS, Sinclair ayers, it deliberately
and fully divested itself by resolution
54, which referred the oil leases to
the federal courts for cancellation.
This resolution is not set out in the
indictment, counsel points out.
Disputes Right OF Questioning.
Through Attorneys Martin w. Lit
tleton of New York, George P.
bar and G. T. Sanford of New York,
the accused oil man declares that
not only did the committee not have
power to make the inquiries of him,
but the Senate of the United States
itself was not at the time of asking
the questions duly organized in ac-
-,.,szs k,S
Constitution of the United States"
The certificate by which his alleged
contempt of the Senate was referred
to United States Attorney Gordon for
presentation to grand jury, is i'll
legal, Sinclair says. He shows that
this certificate was not signed by the
President of the Senate, as required
by law, but by Senator Moses, assum-
ing to act as president pro TEN.
Counsel in their attack on the or
legged irregularity of the Certificate of
contempt, point out that President
Harding died during the sessions of
the. Sixty-seyenth Congress, and by
the succession of Vice President Cooll
idge, the Office of president OF the
Senate became vacant and was as
sumed by SenaN2r Cummins. who had
been duly elected president pro tenn.
Holds Certificate Irregular.
On the convening of the Sixty
eighth Congress there was ne election
of the President OF the Senate, Mr..
Cummins assuming to continue to
hold the office to which he had been
advanced in the previous session.
There was no election of a president
pro tenn in this Congress, it IS as
serted, and the designation of Sena-
for Moses to act in that capacity was
without legal authority, and the Ger
tificate signed by him is therefore
irregular.
In his motion to quash the indict-
ment Mr.. Sinclair contends that his
refusal was based solely on lack of
jurisdiction in the Senate of the sub
ject matter, which had already been
submitted to the courts for determi-
nation and had become a judicial
matter. and that the committee was
.ersy of which 1T had no Jurisdiction.
If the Senate ever had such jurisdic-
ton, the court is told, it divested
itself by resolution 81.
Legislation Not Contemplated.
The sole purpose and object of the
committee at the time of the inquiry
directed to Mr.. Sinclair was to elicit,
he says, facts relating exclusively to
the validity of the lease upon naval re-
serve No. 3, known as Teapot Dome,
and had no reference directly or re-
motely to contemplated or conceivable
legislation. The Senate committee was
on a fishing expedition" Mr.. Sinclair
asserts.
The oil magnate adds to his motion to
quash an affidavit in which he quotes
the proceedings of the Senate commit
tee following the reading by him of his
statement attacking its jurisdiction. In
these minutes it is made clear that
Senator Walsh declared that "if we do
not examine Mr.. Sinclair about these
matters (the leases which have been
referred to the courts) there is not any
thing else to examine him about. Then
l have not anything else that I want to
examine him about"
The questions which he declined to
answer, and which are set forth in the
indictment, were then prop0unded, he
declares, by Senators Walsh and Adams,
and show clearly that they relate only
to the judicial matters already before
the courts
Disputes Senate Authority.
Arguments cited by the attorneys
for Sinclair in support of the de-
murrer follow:
81. That under the Constitution of
the United States, which is the su-
preme law of the land, the Senate was
without power or authority to require
the defendant to answer any of the
questions propounded to him, as in
the indictment alleged, and his re-
fusal to answer said questions, or any
one of them, was not in violation Of
any law of the United States, nor can
such refusal subject him to a crimi-
nal prosecution therefor.
"2. That said indictment is fatally
Continued on Page 4, Column 81