Fall was
admitted to the bar in 1891. He served in the
New Mexico House of Representatives from 1891 to 1892, and served on the territorial council from 1892 until 1893. Fall was appointed
judge of the third judicial district in 1893, and associate justice of the
New Mexico Supreme Court later the same year. Fall served on the Territorial Council again from 1896 to 1897, and as the territory's
attorney general in 1897. He again served on the Territorial Council from 1902 to 1904. During the
Spanish–American War, Fall served as captain of an infantry company. He served as attorney general again in 1907. In 1910 he was a delegate to the territory's constitutional convention.
Albert Jennings Fountain murder case Fall and his neighbor,
Oliver M. Lee, were landowners in the area and were rivals to attorney
Albert Jennings Fountain. Fall's association with Lee seems to have begun when Fall helped Lee in a criminal case. Lee, known for dispensing violence and terrorizing his enemies, employed William McNew and Jim Gilliland, both known as gunmen. Lee repeatedly
rustled cattle from other ranches in the area, altering the
brands to resemble his own. Fall's legal services ensured Lee and his men stayed free from criminal conviction; when they were arrested, Fall intervened on their behalf. Fall disliked Fountain, who showed little fear of the Fall–Lee faction and challenged them openly in the courts and political arena. On February 1, 1896, Fountain and his eight-year-old son, Henry, disappeared near
White Sands on the way from Fall's Three Rivers Ranch north of
Tularosa to their home in
Mesilla. Fall successfully defended Lee, McNew, and Gilliland when they were put on trial for Henry's murder in
Hillsboro. Evidence at the trial suggested Lee was involved in Fountain's murder and disappearance, but investigators had to deal with a corrupt court system and Fall's legal skill. The bodies of Fountain and his son and their horse were never found, which hampered the prosecution. The charges against McNew were dismissed by the court, while Lee and Gilliland were
acquitted. The attempt failed; Fall won the special legislative election. When re-election came up in 1918, Fall was ambivalent about running, but nonetheless accepted the Republican nomination. In the general election he overcame a bitter challenge from Democrat
William B. Walton, even though Fall never made a campaign speech. Some commentators suggest that it was sympathy for Fall's tragic loss of his two children in the flu pandemic that won him the election. In the Senate, Fall served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce and Labor, was noted for his support of the
suffrage movement and his extreme
isolationist tendencies when the U.S. entered
World War I. As a leading antagonist to
President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, Fall was permitted to visit the stricken President in his
White House bedroom in October 1919, hoping to gauge whether the Chief Executive was well enough to remain in office. "I have been praying for you, Sir," Fall sought to offer sincerely. "Which way, Senator?" Wilson replied, drawing laughter from his rival. In the Senate, Fall become close friends with the people who would later make up the infamous
Ohio Gang, which secured him a
cabinet position in
Warren G. Harding's administration in March 1921. While local politicians opposed him, his popularity with the residents of New Mexico was reportedly very high.
Teapot Dome scandal Fall was appointed to the position of
Secretary of the Interior by President Warren G. Harding in March 1921. Soon after his appointment, Harding convinced
Edwin Denby, the
Secretary of the Navy, that Fall's department should take over responsibility for the Naval Reserves at both
Elk Hills and
Buena Vista, California, and
Teapot Dome,
Wyoming. This last setting became the namesake of the
scandal to erupt in April 1922, when
The Wall Street Journal reported that Secretary Fall had decided that two of his friends, oilmen
Harry F. Sinclair (Mammoth Oil Corporation) and
Edward L. Doheny (
Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company), should be given leases to drill in parts of these Naval Reserves without open bidding. In exchange, Fall accepted
bribes. The investigation found Fall guilty of bribery and
conspiracy on October 24, 1929 (exactly the same day as the
Black Thursday) as a result of $385,000 having been paid to him by Edward L. Doheny. Fall was jailed for one year as a result—the first former cabinet officer sentenced to
prison as a result of misconduct in office. Doheny was not only acquitted on the charge of bribing Fall, but Doheny's corporation
foreclosed on Fall's ranch in Tularosa Basin, New Mexico, because of "unpaid loans" which turned out to be that same bribe. Sinclair was fined and served six months for
Contempt of Congress. After serving time in prison, Fall was in financially reduced circumstances. He and his wife lived in El Paso, Texas. Fall died there on November 30, 1944, after a long illness. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso. The epithet "
fall guy" has been said to derive from his surname, but this phrase was in use well before the scandal. ==See also==