William W. Belknap - Washington D.C. Indictment

Washington D.C. Indictment

After his Senate acquittal on August 1, 1876, Belknap was under indictment by Washington D.C. District Courts. However, the district courts were unlikely to gain a conviction of Belknap for any crimes that involved less than $47,000. Washington D.C. District Attorney H.H. Wells, who was in charge of the Belknap case, was advised by Attorney General Alphonso Taft, upon President Ulysses S. Grant's instructions, that the evidence against Belknap would not sustain a conviction in court and that Belknap had suffered enough during the Senate trial. On February 8, 1877, Belknap's case, indictment No. 11,262, was dismissed by Justice McArthur.