United States · Senate
Gould Bribery Hearing Opens With a Row Over Rules of Evidence
Senator Walsh offers a Canadian judge’s finding against the Maine senator, and counsel objects that it is not legal evidence.
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The Senate’s inquiry into a bribery charge against Senator Gould, a Maine Republican, began Friday with a row over whether the legal rules of evidence should apply, the Associated Press reported.
Senator Walsh, a Montana Democrat and author of the investigating resolution, offered the journal of the New Brunswick House of Assembly, containing an opinion of Judge McKeown, who held that Gould had taken part in a $100,000 bribe of a former provincial premier. Gould’s chief counsel, F. W. Hinckley, objected that it was not legal evidence.
The committee agreed that the rule of evidence did not apply to a Senate committee hearing, though counsel for Gould noted exceptions. Earlier in the week Gould’s lawyers argued the Senate had no power to examine events from before he took his seat.
Sources
- Evening Star (Washington), Jan. 7, 1927: the row and the committee’s ruling <https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1927-01-07/ed-1/?sp=1>
- New Britain Herald, Jan. 7, 1927: Walsh’s offer and Hinckley’s objection <https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82014519/1927-01-07/ed-1/?sp=1>
This article was drafted with automated tools from the sources listed, checked by a review pass, and published by Daniel Varrone. Corrections: editor@monochromechronicles.com