Senate Report 127: proceedings against Joseph A. Porretto (1951)

Senate Report No. 127, 82d Congress, 1st Session, on the Kefauver Committee's contempt proceedings against Joseph A. Porretto, who refused to answer questions. The report accompanies S. Res. 85 and annexes excerpts of the hearing record.

Date

1951-02-21

Kind

hearing

Source

GovInfo, United States Congressional Serial Set

Retrieved

2026-10-12

Docket

S. Rept. No. 127, 82d Cong., 1st Sess. (1951); Serial Set 11486

Rights

A work of the United States Congress. Public domain in the United States. 17 U.S.C. § 105.

The printed caption is “Proceedings against Joseph A. Porretto for contempt of the Senate.” It is Senate Report No. 127, 82d Congress, 1st Session, submitted by Senator Kefauver for the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, to accompany S. Res. 85, ordered printed February 21 (legislative day, January 29), 1951. It is printed in Serial Set volume 11486; the text was read from the Serial Set PDF on govinfo.

The report asks the Senate to certify the facts of Joseph A. Porretto’s contempt of the Senate to the United States Attorney. The report states that the witness appeared on January 25, 1951, in New Orleans (subpoena returnable at room 245, Main Post Office Building), and that his refusal to answer prevented the committee from receiving testimony. It annexes excerpts of the hearing record.

A committee report asking the Senate to certify a contempt is the committee’s account and request, not a court judgment. The refusals it describes are not admissions, and the outcome of the proceeding is not covered by this record. The committee’s closing report, filed separately, has a section on the status of the contempt cases.

The printed hearing volume that lists this witness: Part 8: Louisiana.