HISTORY This Week Oil Fields, Bags of Cash, a Presidency Exposed
Apr 6, 2026
A secret no-bid oil lease hands vast naval reserves to private oilmen. Leaked payments and sudden wealth spark a Senate showdown. Senators confront cash-filled bags and unravel a culture of political patronage and corruption. The scandal reshapes government oversight and legal precedent.
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Secret No-Bid Lease To Harry Sinclair
- Albert B. Fall quietly reassigned Teapot Dome from the Navy to the Interior Department and granted Harry Sinclair exclusive drilling rights in a secret, no-bid deal.
- Fall signed the contract in April 1922, locked it in his desk, and believed secrecy would hide the massive $100+ million windfall for Sinclair.
Frontier Mindset Met Political Power
- Albert Fall's frontier mindset and legal skillset made him an ideal intermediary for oil interests once he became Secretary of the Interior.
- Harding appointed Fall to promote business-friendly resource use, enabling rapid transfers like Teapot Dome without oversight.
Carl McGee's Testimony Exposes The Money Trail
- The Senate hearings that began in late 1923 summoned witnesses like Carl McGee, whose testimony became pivotal in exposing Fall's unexplained wealth.
- McGee's account of Fall's rapid ranch improvements and paid taxes triggered investigators to ask where Fall got $100,000.
