United States v. Johnson
| Decision Date | 28 February 1963 |
| Docket Number | Cr. No. 26067. |
| Citation | 215 F. Supp. 300 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America v. Thomas F. JOHNSON, Frank W. Boykin, J. Kenneth Edlin and William L. Robinson. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Joseph D. Tydings, U. S. Atty., J. Hardin Marion, III, Asst. U. S. Atty., Arnold M. Weiner, Sp. Asst. U. S. Atty, Baltimore, Md., and Arthur L. Burnett, Atty., Criminal Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for the United States.
George Cochran Doub, Baltimore, Md. (Herbert H. Hubbard and Ronald E. Creamer, Baltimore, Md., on brief), for Johnson.
Edward Bennett Williams and Harold Ungar, Washington, D. C., for Boykin.
William L. Robinson, pro se.
Defendants in this eight-count indictment found by the Grand Jury for the District of Maryland are: Thomas F. Johnson and Frank W. Boykin, who at all times mentioned in the indictment were Members of the House of Representatives of the United States from Maryland and Alabama respectively; J. Kenneth Edlin, who is alleged to have dominated and controlled certain savings and loan associations and land companies, which are named as co-conspirators but not indicted; and William L. Robinson, a lawyer, who is alleged to have been a director and officer of those associations and companies.1
The First Count charges a conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 371,2 among defendants and others "to defraud the United States of and concerning its governmental functions and rights", in specified particulars summarized below under the heading "The Indictment". Each of the seven other counts charges that, in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 281 and 2,3 Johnson, acting in concert with and aided and abetted by the other defendants, directly or indirectly received compensation from Edlin and Robinson for services rendered and to be rendered by Johnson before the Department of Justice in relation to a charge, accusation and indictment against Edlin et al.
Each defendant has filed a number of motions, or adopted those filed by other defendants; they will be discussed under the following headings:
1. The First Count, the conspiracy count, after identifying defendants and their alleged co-conspirators and referring to an indictment against Edlin et al. in the District of Maryland, charges in paragraph 14 that from on or about April 1, 1960, and continuously thereafter until on or about December 31, 1961, defendants and their co-conspirators conspired in Maryland and elsewhere to defraud the United States "of and concerning its governmental functions and rights", described in four sub-paragraphs as: (a) its right to have the business of the Department of Justice conducted free from improper and undue influence; (b) its right to have the personnel of that Department free to transact its official business unhindered by the exercise upon them of corrupt, unlawful, improper and undue pressure and influence; (c) its right to have the duties of Johnson and Boykin in their official capacities as Members of the House performed free from corruption resulting from their personal and pecuniary interest in the success of Edlin et al. in attempting to persuade the Department of Justice to cause the postponement of the trial and the eventual dismissal of the indictment against Edlin et al; and (d) its right not to be deprived of the faithful services of Johnson and Boykin in their official capacities as Members of the House uninfluenced by corruption and by payments of money and other valuable considerations to them by the other defendants and co-conspirators as compensation for services rendered and to be rendered by Johnson in behalf of the other defendants and co-conspirators in relation to matters pending in the House, and for services rendered and to be rendered by Johnson and Boykin before the Department of Justice in relation to proceedings, charges and accusations in which the United States is a party and directly interested.
The First Count then sets out in paragraphs 15 to 25 that it was a part of the conspiracy: (para. 15) that Johnson should, at the request of Edlin and Robinson, render services for compensation to them and their co-conspirators, namely, the making of a speech on the floor of the House defending "the operations of Maryland's `independent' savings and loan associations, the financial stability and solvency thereof, and the reliability and integrity of the `commercial insurance' on investments made by said `independent' savings and loan associations, on the floor of the House of Representatives"; (para. 16) that Johnson, Edlin and Robinson would cause to be reprinted 50,000 copies of said speech for distribution to prospective depositors in the aforesaid savings and loan associations, to members of the General Assembly of Maryland, and to others; and (paras. 17-25) that Johnson and Boykin should at the request of the other defendants and their co-conspirators render specified services for compensation in relation to the aforesaid indictment, bringing the prestige, weight and influence of their official position to bear upon the officials of the Department of Justice to obtain decisions and actions beneficial to defendants and their co-conspirators, particularly the postponement of the trial and the eventual dismissal of the indictment.
Seventy-five overt acts to effect the objects of the alleged conspiracy are specified. Reference is made to 18 U.S. C.A. § 371.
2. The Second Count charges that on or about April 3, 1961, in the District of Maryland, Johnson, being then a Member of Congress, acting jointly and in concert with and aided and abetted by the other defendants, unlawfully, wilfully and corruptly received, directly or indirectly, from Edlin and Robinson, compensation in the amount of $800.00, to wit, the proceeds of a bank check drawn by Robinson on a certain bank in Miami, Florida, which was "deposited in, credited to and final payment in the sum of $800.00 made thereon to the account of" Johnson at the Exchange and Savings Bank, Berlin, Maryland, the date and place of the receipt of said check by Johnson being to the Grand Jurors unknown, for services rendered and to be rendered by Johnson before the Department of Justice in relation to the proceeding, charge and accusation referred to in the First Count. Reference is made to 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 281 and 2.
3, 4, 5, 6. The Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Counts are similar to the Second Count except for dates and amounts and the allegation that the checks referred to in those four counts were drawn by one of the alleged co-conspirators on the National Bank of Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Maryland.
7, 8. The Seventh and Eighth Counts are similar to the Second Count except for dates and amounts of the checks.
Motions to Dismiss the First Count
Johnson, Edlin and Robinson have moved4 to dismiss the First Count for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the prosecution of the offense charged therein is barred by Art. 1, Sec. 6, Cl. 1 of the Constitution, which provides:
Defendants do not cite any authority which holds that the quoted clause bars the prosecution of a Member of Congress for accepting money for making a speech on the floor of the House of which he is a member, nor for participating in a conspiracy of which that is an incident. They rely on the doctrine of the separation of powers, on the importance thereto of the privilege granted by the clause, and on the statements contained in opinions dealing with civil actions rather than criminal prosecutions. The importance of the doctrine and of the privilege is universally recognized. The question here, however, is the scope of the prohibition contained in the clause.
The historical background of the clause is reviewed at length in Kilbourn v. Thompson, 103 U.S. 168, 201 et seq., 26 L.Ed. 377, and in Tenney v. Brandhove, 341 U.S. 367, 71 S.Ct. 783, 95 L.Ed. 1019; that discussion need not be repeated here.
Both of those cases were civil actions, one for false arrest and the other for deprivation of civil rights. They hold that the clause should be liberally construed to cover voting and other official action by legislators, as well as speeches and debates. Other cases hold that the question whether a matter is before the House should also be liberally construed. See, e. g., Cochran v. Couzens, 59 App. D.C. 374, 42 F.2d 783; Barsky v. United States, 83 U.S.App.D.C. 127, 167 F.2d 241. Defendants rely heavily on the following passage in Coffin v. Coffin, 4 Mass. 1 (), construing the Massachusetts Constitution: ...
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