Evening star., 1925-11-05
Claims He's Been Acquitted
Once on Complaint and
Case Is Decided.
ASSERTS INDICTMENT
FAILS TO SHOW FRAUD
Barring Quashing, Case Will Go to
Court in January or February.
Is Forecast.
BY &. GOULD LINCOLN.


A demurrer and a plea of formal ac.
quittal We're filed in the Supreme
Court of the District of Columbia to-
day by Senator Burton K. Wheeler
of Montana, who is under indictment
here on the charge of conspiring To
defraud the Government in connec-
fion with permits for prospecting oil
lands In Montana. The demurrer
and plea were filed for Senator
Wheeler by his attorneys, Senator
Thomas j. Walsh of Montana, his
colleague; Charles A. Douglas and Ar
thur Garfield Hays.
The demurrer maintains that the
indictment of Senator Wheeler fails
TO set out anything which constitutes
an offense under the laws of the
United States; that the indictment
! does not charge the offense of con
spiracy 10 defraud the United States,
and that the Supreme Court of the
District has no Jurisdiction of the of
tense charged or sought to be
| charged.
Claims Former AcquittaI.
The plea of former acquittal asserts
that Senator Wheeler has already
been tried and acquitted in Montana
of any guilt in connection with the
same incidents upon which he is now
indicted in the District of Columbia.
The demurrer and plea of former
acQuittal, II is expected, will be argued
the last of November before Judge
Jennings Bailey in the Supreme Court
Of the District, holding criminal court.
Senator Walsh and Judge Douglas will
hal Of
and the Government will be repre-
sented by Robert F. Stewart and
! William +. Leahy, appointed a spe
clsl assistant TO aid in the conduct of
the case against Senator Wheeler.
Ii the court sustains the demurrer
or the plea of former acquittal filed
by Senator Wheeler, the case ends
so far as the present indictment is
concerned. and indeed, probably would
not be renewed.
Plea of Abatement.
If the court on the other hand sets
aside the demurrer and the plea, three
courses will be open to the defendant
He may plead not guilty and so to
trial. He may seek special appeal in
the Court of Appeals, or me may file
plea in abatement. In all probability
course. In that event the case would
then so to trail, but probably not until
January or February.
The Indictment of Senator Wheeler
in the District of Columbia charges
MIN with Conspiring with Edwin 5.
Booth, former solicitor of the Depart
ment of the Interior and later special
assistant TO the Attorney General, and
with Gordon Campbell, a Montana oil
tn1- NJ To-, foo
Gowan to defraud the United States
out of 10000 acres of oil lands in the
public domain. located in the county
of Toole. Mont. Booth and Campbell
are indicted jointly with Senator
| Wheeler. James A. MacGowan be
cause he testified before the grand
! jury in the District which found the
! indictment against the others, was not
indicted.
The attorneys for Senator Wheeler
viii stress particularly in arguing the
demurrer that the charge of con
Spiracy cannot lie against Senator
/ Wheeler because the indictment does
not actually charge a violation of the
statute. They will distinguish between
the law as it relates to the issue of
permits for exploration of oil and the
law relating to leases of oil lands
| They will contend that there is moth
one mans obtaining more than one
permit for exploration. whether he OBJ
tanned the permits in his own name or
| through other persons
Dummy Applicants Charged.
The case against Senator Wheeler
| and the other defendants alleges that
| they sought to obtain several permits
Of exploration through the use Of dunn
my applicants. 1t will be contended
that il one man is entitled to more
! than one permit, 1t makes no differ
ence whether he obtained them direct
and in his own name or in the names
of others.
The Wheeler case nom the first
has been full of fireworks. Senator
! Wheeler and his friends have insisted
that he has been the object of political
persecution, because he was the in
stigator of the Senate investigation
of the Department of Justice under
former Attorney General Harry NJ.
Daugherty.
The Government, on the other hand.
has maintained that the law has been
violated and that just because MFR.
Wheeler Is a Senator of the United
States is no reason why he should not
be prosecuted.
SHhOHoioSt ol NdSe.
I A chronology of the case and the
! Daugherty investigation follows:
! March l. 1924, the Senate adopted
! the Wheeler resolution providing for
an investigation of Attorney General
! Daugherty and the Department of
! Justice under his administration.
April 8, 1924, while the Daugherty
| investigation was still under way, Sen
| ator Wheeler was indicted in Montana,
charged with receiving money from
Gordon Campbell for representing him
| before the Interior Department after
Wheeler had become Senator in viola.
| ton of the law.
/ January %, 1925, while his trial In
| Montana was still pending, it was an
nounced that a special grand Jury
would be impaneled in the District of
Columbia to determine whether Sena.
tor Wheeler should be indicted here
on the conspiracy charge.
March IS. 1925, an indictment was
returned by the grand jury here,
| charging Senator Wheeler with con.
spiracy to defraud the Government.
April Is, 1925, Senator Wheelers
| trial in Montana was begun, and on
April "a. on the first ballot and after
being out for not more than 10 min
Continued on page Is. column 2)