Since the decision of the Speaker of the House, John William McCormack, was to ask the high chamber member Adam Clayton Powell Jr. not to take an oath, because of the previous scandal in which Powell had been involved; If the jury had decided in favor of Speaker McCormack, the way of operating in the congress would have been questioned, since only one member could be expelled according to what the constitution says, and not by the decisions of the speaker. The scope would have been very large if it failed in McCormack's favor, giving a sense of illegality or favoritism, and voters would feel that their representatives were not respected.