President Calvin Coolidge dismissed Attorney General Harry Daugherty after he refused to open Justice Department files to a congressional committee investigating charges of wrongdoing by Harding associates. Daugherty faced bitter public opposition when appointed attorney general and nearly faced …
Harry DaughertyCalvin CoolidgeWarren G. Hardingexecutive-corruptioninstitutional-captureaccountability-crisisobstruction
Jesse W. Smith, Attorney General Harry Daugherty’s aide and key Ohio Gang operator within the Justice Department, died by suicide as scrutiny of Harding administration corruption intensified. Smith managed sensitive communications and facilitated illicit schemes including the sale of illegal …
Jesse SmithHarry DaughertyWarren G. Hardingexecutive-corruptioninstitutional-capturesystematic-corruptionjustice-department
Attorney General Harry Daugherty secured a sweeping federal injunction that prohibited virtually any action by railway shop craft workers in furtherance of the largest railway strike in U.S. history. The 1922 strike involved hundreds of thousands of workers fighting wage reductions ordered by the …
Harry DaughertyWarren G. HardingRailroad Labor Boardlabor-suppressionjudicial-captureexecutive-corruptionanti-union