The committee that conducted the investigation was controlled by members of the opposition party who had political incentives to embarrass the Grant administration generally.

The Board of Indian Commissioners — which was specifically designed as an independent oversight body, and which Parker himself had established — reviewed the same evidence and reached a different conclusion.

The board found that the most serious charges against Parker were not supported, that he had not personally benefited from the contracts, and that while some procedures had been irregular, the irregularities did not constitute the fraud alleged.

The contrast between the House committee’s findings and the Board of Indian Commissioners’ findings suggests that the investigation was as much a political exercise as a genuine accountability review.