The Teapot Dome Scandal

The Teapot Dome bribery scandal spanned the term of US President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Albert Bacon Fall, Secretary of the Interior, had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming, as well as two places in California, to private oil corporations at cheap prices without competitive bidding. Senator Thomas J. Walsh conducted a crucial probe into the leases. Fall became the first presidential cabinet member to go to prison after being convicted of collecting bribes from oil firms; no one was convicted of giving the payments.

Cora's playboy brother, Harold (Paul Giamatti), has gotten himself into trouble and wants Robert to fly to America to assist bail him out. There are little specifics on the occurrence, other than Cora mentioning "a Senator Fall". The scandal in question is the Teapot Dome Scandal, which occurred between 1921 and 1923. Albert Bacon Fall, Secretary of the Interior, was paid into leasing Navy oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, to private oil firms. This resulted in Senate inquiries, criminal convictions, and, eventually, Fall's incarceration. The Teapot Dome Scandal is regarded as one of the most dramatic scandals in American political history, therefore it's no surprise that it was included in Downton Abbey.