On April 8, 1929, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Sinclair v. United States, affirming Congress' authority to investigate oil executive Harry Sinclair's dealings in the Teapot Dome scandal. The case centered on secret leasing of federal oil reserves to Sinclair's Mammoth Oil Company.
The scandal involved bribes totaling over $400,000 paid to Interior Secretary Albert Fall, who became the first U.S. cabinet member ever sentenced to prison. Public outrage helped push oil leasing, transparency, and government oversight into the national spotlight during a time when U.S. oil production exceeded 900 million barrels per year.
The ruling reinforced congressional oversight powers and remains one of the most consequential corruption cases in American energy history.
