Printed page 4927 of the McClellan Committee hearings, Tuesday, August 20, 1957: the session opens and the chairman swears in Mr. Hoffa. — Open the full imageJPG, 1140 × 1900 px, 0.4 MB

McClellan Committee hearings, Part 13: James R. Hoffa's first testimony (20 to 23 August 1957)

The hearing at which James R. Hoffa first testified before the select committee. Sworn on 20 August 1957, he identified himself as "a business representative and a vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters."

Date: 1957-08-20/1957-08-23
Kind: hearing
Source: Internet Archive, scan of the printed hearings, Part 13
Retrieved: 2026-10-12
Docket: Investigation of Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field, Hearings before the Select Committee, 85th Cong., 1st sess., Part 13 (printed pages from 4927)
Rights: A work of the United States Senate, printed by the Government Printing Office. Public domain in the United States under 17 U.S.C. § 105. Read from the Internet Archive scan of the print and its OCR text; the page image stored here is from that scan.

Part 13 covers the hearings of 20, 21, 22 and 23 August 1957 in the caucus room of the Senate Office Building, with Senator John L. McClellan presiding. The printed page shown here opens the first day. Before testimony began, the chairman settled a dispute about press photographers.

Sworn, the witness said: “My name is James R. Hoffa. I am a business representative and a vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.” He appeared with counsel George S. Fitzgerald of Detroit and read a prepared statement.

The Library of Congress holds a photograph of Hoffa at the witness table on 20 August 1957. The committee’s findings on his testimony are in its interim report. The volume prints Hoffa’s home address, which is not repeated here.

itemJames R. Hoffa at the witness table of the Senate rackets committee, 20 August 1957 (Library of Congress)Warren K. Leffler's U.S. News & World Report photograph of James R. Hoffa testifying before the McClellan Committee, dated 20 August 1957 in the log book. A copy is stored here.

itemInterim Report of the McClellan Committee, S. Rept. 85-1417 (March 1958)The select committee's report on its first year, ordered printed 24 March 1958. It finds that Dave Beck "took, not borrowed, more than $370,000 in union funds" and that James R. Hoffa "repeatedly betrayed the members of his own union."

itemMcClellan Committee hearings, Part 36: Hoffa recalled as general president (5 to 12 August 1958)The committee resumed its inquiry into the Teamsters under James R. Hoffa, by then general president. The chairman's opening statement recalls the interim report's finding that Hoffa had "alined himself with certain underworld characters."

itemInvestigation of Racketeering in the Detroit Area: House joint subcommittee report (1954)Report of two House special subcommittees on their June 1953 hearings in Detroit. It found that Teamsters Local 985 used picketing and threats to build a monopoly in jukebox and vending locations, and that James R. Hoffa refused three questions.