On January 18, 1909, Willett denounced President Theodore Roosevelt in a speech that was so outrageous that he was ordered to sit down, and the House voted 126 to 78 against allowing him to continue.

[1] On January 27, the House, by voice vote, expunged the speech from the Congressional Record for "language improper and in violation of the privileges of debate".

Willett was indicted in 1912 on charges that he paid Democratic Party leaders for a seat on the State Supreme Court.

Willett died in New York City on February 12, 1938, his body interred in Cemetery of the Evergreens, Brooklyn.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress