Edwin Edward Willis (October 2, 1904 – October 24, 1972) was an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and attorney from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

who was affiliated with the

Long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

political faction. A Democrat, he served in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

during 1948 and in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1949 to 1969.

Biography

Willis was born in 1904 in Arnaudville, Louisiana, Louisiana of Joseph Olinder Willis and Julia Marie Hardy. Willis received his law degree from Loyola University in 1926 and was admitted to the bar that same year.

House of Representatives

House Un-American Activities Committee

Willis served on the U.S. House of Representatives' Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) from 1957 to 1968, becoming chair of the committee in 1963 following the death of Francis E. Walter.

KKK Inquiries

In 1965 and 1966, Willis lead an inquiries into the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

as chair of HUAC. These investigations led to seven Klan leaders, including Robert Shelton being cited for Contempt of Congress. Shelton was found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison, plus a $1,000 fine. Three other Klan leaders, Robert Scoggin, Bob Jones, and Calvin Craig, pleaded guilty. Scoggin and Jones were each sentenced to one year in prison, while Craig was fined $1,000. The charges against the others were later dropped.

Lee Harvey Oswald

In 1965, the attorney for Robert Shelton of the United Klans of American, Shelton's attorney, met with Congressman Edwin E. Willis, Chair of the

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...

(HUAC), who was leading a congressional investigation into KKK activities at the time. At this meeting, the attorney told Willis that two weeks before the 1963

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

Shelton had been offered the services of

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

and that Oswald had already been involved in some bombings in Alabama. After an FBI investigation into these claims, Assistant Director of the FBI Deke DeLoach, contacted Willis to inform him that the FBI had determined that the information Shelton had provided to him about Oswald was not factual citing testimony from an FBI informant mentioned by Shelton as having been present for this meeting that the meeting had never happened.

Leaving Office

In 1966 Willis suffered a series of stokes, which contributed to his defeat by his successor Patrick Caffery in the 1968 Democratic primary. Willis left office in 1969.

References

*"Edwin E. Willis", ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'', Vol. 2 (1988), p. 853. * . Retrieved March 10, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Edwin Edward 1904 births 1972 deaths Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Louisiana lawyers American planters People from Arnaudville, Louisiana People from St. Martin Parish, Louisiana Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American businesspeople Farmers from Louisiana Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee