House Launches Credit Mobilier Investigation

The U.S. House of Representatives launches an investigation into the Credit Mobilier scandal following the September 1872 New York Sun exposé revealing systematic bribery of congressmen with railroad company stock. The investigation examines how Congressman Oakes Ames distributed discounted Credit Mobilier shares to two senators and nine representatives in exchange for favorable legislation protecting the $44 million fraud against Union Pacific.

The Poland Committee investigation uncovers widespread corruption but produces minimal accountability. On February 27, 1873, the House censures only Ames and fellow Congressman James Brooks for using their political influence for personal financial gain. Attempts to expel Senator Patterson fail entirely. Vice President Schuyler Colfax, VP candidate Henry Wilson, and future President James Garfield all escape serious consequences despite receiving stock bribes.

The investigation’s weakness establishes a pattern of accountability theater that persists in congressional ethics proceedings. Despite clear evidence of bribery involving the highest levels of government and theft of tens of millions in public funds, no criminal prosecutions follow. The scandal damages careers politically but creates no legal precedents deterring future corruption. This template—public investigation, limited censure, no prosecutions—will be repeated in subsequent corporate-political corruption cases from Teapot Dome to Iran-Contra to the 2008 financial crisis.