Word: mutscher
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...many ways it is amazing that the attempt even got off the ground. Farenthold had written a resolution to investigate the bribery charges but Speaker Mutscher controlled all the House committees. Any bill calling for a look at the dealings of Mutscher and his friends would surely be killed in committee. On March 15, 1971, rising on a little-known parliamentary tactic called "privilege of the House" whereby a member can call for immediate consideration of a bill to investigate matters that question the integrity of the House or its members. Farenthold asked to be recognized...
...Mutscher asked Farenthold her purpose in rising, and when she stated it, he refused to recognize her. The House thought the matter would die quietly. Then Lane Denton rose to appeal the Speaker's ruling. Had Mutscher asked him his purpose in rising, he could have refused to recognize Denton just as he had done with Farenthold. Instead, Mutscher simply said, "Yes, Mr. Denton," and the House was forced to consider his appeal. What is more, Mutscher had to leave the chamber for the duration of the appeal...
...FINAL VOTE was 118-30 to sustain Mutscher's ruling, but the Dirty Thirty--in a last gasp parliamentary manuever--had finally forced the House membership to take a stand on an issue that most of them hoped would never reach the floor...
...course, the House never made an honest investigation of the SEC charges: Mutscher and his men maintained too tight a grip for that to happen. However, Mutscher did lose the speakership, and was convicted of the bribery charges. He got a suspended sentence. Smith was never brought to trial...
Sharp, meanwhile, had negotiated the deal of his life. With the approval of the Justic Department in Washington, he was granted immmunity in exchange for information about his dealings with Texas politicians. It was generally assumed that he had the means to damn Smith, Mutscher, and the rest of them. But when Sharp finally came to trial, all he was willing to do was tighten the noose around Mutscher just slightly, and implicate Barnes and state attorney general Will Wilson, Richard Kleindeinst, then Deputy Attorney General, later said that the Justice Department had been duped. So had the people...