Charles Evans Hughes

“ Appellees were not indicted for a conspiracy to violate the Agricultural Adjustment Act but for a conspiracy to violate the statute protecting the United States against frauds. It is cheating the government at which the statute aims and Congress was entitled to protect the government against those who would swindle it regardless of questions of constitutional authority as to the operations that the government is conducting. Such questions cannot be raised by those who make false claims against the government. ”

“ This did not purport to be a construction of the indictment but a ruling that the indictment in view of the invalidity of that act failed to state an offense. The substance of the decision thus appears to be that the false claims statute does not apply to an attempt to defraud the United States by obtaining the approval of claims and benefit payments through false representations, if the statute providing for such claims and payments is found to be invalid. That is clearly a construction of the statute. ”