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Eye On DeLay In an
outrageous power grab, Tom DeLay diminished minority-voting rights and
divided rural Texas with an outrageous congressional redistricting plan.
Delay is pushing the same anti-Texas, anti-family agenda in Washington. So We've been keeping an eye
on DeLay. Since the Burnet County Democrats started our “Eye
on DeLay page Before the 2000 Elections many others have started keeping an
Eye on Delay…. The New York Times now has News about Tom Delay, including commentary and
archival articles published in The New York Times. DeLay to leave
Congress Tue Apr 4,
2006 6:30 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters)
- Republican Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the House of Representatives' fallen
majority leader, withdrew on Tuesday from a re-election race he was in danger
of losing due to scandals and said he would quit Congress by mid-June. "It's time for
me to go do something else," DeLay, who again denied any wrongdoing,
told Fox News in a round of interviews a day after he privately advised
President George W. Bush and House Republican leaders of his decision. DeLay's announcement
came as a surprise, but a Republican leadership aide said he was "long
expected to do the right thing for his party." Republicans are trying to
stave off what is expected to be a strong challenge by Democrats to recapture
control of Congress in November elections. Democrats have sought
to make DeLay and Republican ethical scandals an issue in the effort, and
Republicans shared DeLay's hope that a new candidate in his district would
give the party a better chance to keep the seat in November. DeLay, 58, blamed
politics for his woes, which have included an indictment in Texas on
campaign-finance charges last year that forced him to resign as majority
leader, and an expanding lobbying scandal in Washington that has ensnared two
former aides. Travis County
District Attorney Ronnie Earle said despite DeLay's decision to leave
Congress, the charges against him in Texas remain. "DeLay's ultimate
fate will be decided by the public acting through a jury," Earle said.
12/05/2005
A judge dismissed a conspiracy charge Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay but refused to throw out the far more serious allegations of money-laundering, dashing the congressman's immediate hopes of reclaiming his House majority leader post and increasing the likelihood of a criminal trial next year. Judge Pat Priest, who presides over DeLay's case, issued the ruling after a hearing late last month in which DeLay's attorney argued that the indictment was fatally flawed. The ruling means DeLay's case will move toward a trial next year, although his attorneys still have motions pending to get the case dismissed on other grounds. The judge's decision comes as DeLay and Vice President Dick Cheney were scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Houston to help raise money for DeLay's re-election campaign. When he was indicted in September, DeLay was required under House rules to relinquish the leadership post he had held since 2003. While Monday's ruling was a partial victory for DeLay, he cannot reclaim his post because he remains under indictment. "The court's decision to dismiss Ronnie Earle's numerous charges against Mr. DeLay underscores just how baseless and politically motivated the charges were," DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said, referring to the Democratic district attorney who brought the case. "Mr. DeLay is very encouraged by the swift progress of the legal proceedings and looks forward to his eventual and absolute exoneration based on the facts and the law." In a written statement, Earle's office said prosecutors were studying the ruling. "We have made no decision about whether to appeal any part of his ruling. We will have no further comment at this time," the statement said. DeLay, 58, and two Republican fundraisers, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, are accused of illegally funneling $190,000 in corporate donations to a DeLay political action committee through the Republican National State Elections Committee and back to 2002 Republican candidates for the Texas Legislature. Under Texas law, corporate money cannot be directly used for political campaigns. In asking that the case be thrown out, DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin argued that one of the charges — conspiracy to violate the Texas election code — did not even take effect until September 2003, a year after the alleged offenses occurred. Prosecutors, however, said the crime of conspiracy was already on the books, and could be applied to the election code even though such uses were not explicitly in state law at the time. The judge was unconvinced by that argument, and dismissed the conspiracy charge. Defense attorneys also argued that the political donations were made by check, and until this year Texas law specified that money laundering only applied to "coins or paper money." Priest said that checks "are clearly funds and can be the subject of money laundering." "Since the money laundering statute and the conspiracy statute are both parts of the penal code, no reasons appear why conspiracy to money launder would not be an offense, and this court holds that it is, and was in 2002," Priest wrote. Defense attorneys also contended that the definition of money laundering in Texas involves the transfer of criminal proceeds. Because the donations weren't illegal to begin with, they argued, money laundering never occurred. But Priest said the money became suspect when "it began to be held with the prohibited intent." He said if prosecutors can prove that DeLay and his associates obtained the corporate donations "with the express intent of converting those funds to the use of individual candidates," or that they converted monies legally collected by sending them to the Republican National Committee and asking for the same amount to be sent back to Texas candidates "then they will have established that money was laundered." "The money would have become `dirty money' at the point that it began to be held with the prohibited intent. Of course, if the state cannot establish that beyond a reasonable doubt, then the defendants will be entitled to be acquitted," Priest wrote. Prosecutors have up to 15 working days to file an appeal to Priest's ruling on the conspiracy to violate the election code charge. Defense attorneys can't appeal the money laundering charges until after the case goes to trial. Priest said he will not set another hearing date until the 15 days are up, or prosecutors tell him they don't plan to appeal. Conspiracy to violate the election code carries up to two years in prison. Money laundering is punishable by five years to life. Conspiracy to commit money laundering carries two years. 12.05.05 Judge Pat Priest ordered U.S. Rep. Tom
DeLay and two co-defendants to be tried next year on charges that they
laundered corporate money into political donations during the 2002 elections
dismissing a conspiracy charge Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay and his co-defendants
but refused to throw out the far more serious allegations of
money-laundering, dashing the congressman's immediate hopes of reclaiming his
House majority leader post and increasing the likelihood of a criminal trial
next year. Also on Monday night, two
men and half the Republican Party's troubles appeared side-by-side in Texas.
Vice President Dick Cheney (who prefers to stay "underground")
traveled all the way to the Lone Star state to help bail out Tom DeLay by
appearing as the headliner at the embattled Republican leader's fundraiser
fundraiser that was postponed by Hurricane Rita in September and was
rescheduled for Dec. 5. The most expensive tickets for the event — $4,200 —
include a spot at a VIP reception and a photograph with the vice president. Protesters
bearing signs that read "The GOP is in an ethics free-fall" and
chants of "Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Dick Cheney Has To Go," greeted Vice
President Dick Cheney as he stopped in Houston on Monday to speak at a
campaign fundraiser for embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay. The media was
not allowed to attend the event and nearly 200 protesters were kept several
hundred feet away from the hotel where it was held. Protesters
lined the street in front of the hotel, located inside the Galleria mall,
holding up signs for passing motorists and used a bullhorn to lead chants
criticizing Cheney and President Bush for their handling of the war in Iraq.
Others had signs critical of DeLay's legal problems. Neither
Cheney nor DeLay spoke to the media before or after the fundraiser. But
several local GOP leaders told reporters that Cheney expressed his support of
DeLay during a 15-minute speech. Former Rep. Nick Lampson is seeking the Democrat nomination to run
against DeLay next year. Mike Malaise, campaign manager for former Rep.
Nick Lampson, said Cheney's visit Monday was a sign that GOP leaders are
worried about the congressman's chances for re-election. "I think Tom
DeLay has a lot of concerns about this race," he said. "It is very
telling he is having to call in the administration to bail him out." Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, who contends there was misconduct by
prosecutors, said Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle refused the
subpoena at his Austin office when he declined to sign a paper acknowledging
its delivery. Earle said he had voluntarily accepted the subpoena. The subpoena is part of the defense tactic to have
charges dismissed before trial against DeLay, R-Texas, who was obligated to
temporarily step aside as House majority leader when charged with conspiracy
and money laundering in a state campaign finance investigation. DeLay has
denied any wrongdoing. DeGuerin wants Earle and two of his assistants to
testify, alleging prosecutors had improper contact with two grand juries that
indicted DeLay and one that refused to file charges. DeGuerin said he would have Earle’s subpoena
redelivered Wednesday. Earle responded that it wasn’t necessary. “It was not a properly prepared subpoena but we
accepted service voluntarily anyway,” the prosecutor said. Long before his criminal case gets a hearing in a court of law, Rep.
Tom DeLay is fighting in the court of public opinion with a media blitz. With
his trademark zeal, he assails the prosecutor in one sentence and portrays
himself as a victim in the next. And the media -- often distrusted by fellow
conservatives -- is his bullhorn. "I know when
you stand up for what you believe in, this kind of thing is going to
happen," DeLay boasted on a Houston radio show. "It's part of the
fight. I know Democrats hate me and they hate what I believe in and they hate
the amazing things we've been able to accomplish ever since we've been in the
majority." Setting aside his
own aversion to the media, DeLay has waged a blitz on radio, on TV and in
print as he tries to shore up support in his suburban Houston congressional
district while assuring fellow Republicans he plans to return to power. Grand juries in
Texas have indicted DeLay on charges of conspiracy and money laundering,
forcing him to give up the No. 2 post in the House while the charges are
pending. DeLay indicted, gives up leadership
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
STAFF Wednesday,
September 28, 2005 A Travis County
grand jury today indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on one count of
criminal conspiracy, prompting the Sugar Land Republican to give up his
leadership post in Congress. "I have
notified (House Speaker Dennis Hastert) that I will temporarily step aside
from my position as majority leader pursuant to rules of the House Republican
Conference and the actions of the Travis County district attorney
today," DeLay said in a statement. The charge, a
state jail felony punishable by up to two years incarceration, stems from his
role with his political committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, a
now-defunct organization that already had been indicted on charges of
illegally using corporate money during the 2002 legislative elections. State law
generally bars corporate money from campaign-related activity. DeLay and his
associates have insisted the corporate money was legally spent on committee
overhead or issue advertising and not campaign-related activity. The grand jury
took no action against Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, Texas Association of
Business President Bill Hammond or state Reps. Dianne Delisi and Beverly
Woolley, both of whom sit on the political committee's board, for their roles
in the election. The grand
jury's term ended today. DeLay's
spokesman, Kevin Madden, said the charge had no basis in "facts or the
law," and took aim at Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a
Democrat. "This is
just another example of Ronnie Earle misusing his office for partisan
vendettas," Madden said. "This purely political investigation has
been marked by illegal grand jury leaks, a fund-raising speech by Ronnie
Earle for Texas Democrats that inappropriately focused on the investigation,
misuse of his office for partisan purposes and extortion of money for Earle's
pet projects from corporations in exchange for dismissing indictments he
brought against them." Madden
predicted that Earle's prosecution of DeLay would fail, just as the district
attorney's indictment of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison was dismissed in
1994. A Travis County grand jury indicted Hutchison on four felony counts,
accusing her of using her state office and employees for political purposes
and covering up the evidence. "We regret
the people of Texas will once again have their taxpayer dollars wasted on
Ronnie Earle's pursuit of headlines and political paybacks," Madden
said. "That kind
of attack is what they believe of themselves," Earle said of allegations
that the indictment was politically motivated. "I don't know what else
they would say." An indictment
does not force DeLay to resign as a member of Congress, but the GOP's rules
demand that he resign his post as majority leader as he fights the charges.
Congressional Republicans earlier tried to drop that requirement, citing
Earle's investigation as a political vendetta, but they ultimately maintained
the rule after withering criticism. Under House
Republican Conference rules, any GOP leader who is indicted for a felony that
carries at least a two-year prison term must step down immediately. "It's
assumed to be immediate," said Sean Spicer, spokesman for the Republican
Conference. "If you're indicted, you're indicted." The rule
applies to the speaker of the House, majority leader, whip, conference chair
and chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Spicer said. Said House
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi: "The criminal indictment of Majority
Leader Tom Delay is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are
plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American
people." At the White
House, the Bush administration expressed continued support for DeLay. "Congressman
DeLay is a good ally, a leader we have worked closely with to get things done
for the American people," said spokesman Scott McClellan. Asked about the
indictment, McClellan said, "The president's view is we need to let the
legal process work." Earle has spent
almost three years investigating whether Republican groups and their business
allies violated the ban on spending corporate money in connection with
political campaigns. The groups helped elect a Republican majority to the
state Legislature which, in turn, drew new Congressional districts that
benefited Republican candidates. Over the past
year, Travis County grand jurors have indicted three DeLay associates — John
Colyandro, Jim Ellis and Warren Robold — as well as eight corporate donors,
the Texas Association of Business and DeLay's Texans for a Republican
Majority. Colyandro and Ellis were re-indicted this morning as part of the
conspiracy indictment. DeLay had
appeared to escape criminal scrutiny as early as last year when Travis County
prosecutors concluded they did not have the jurisdiction to pursue election
code violations against him. Under the law, only DeLay's local district
attorney, a Republican, had jurisdiction, and he expressed no interest in the
case. But a
conspiracy charge falls under the criminal code, not the election statute
that bans corporate money from being spent on a campaign. And Earle has the
jurisdiction to prosecute DeLay for conspiring with others to circumvent
state law. In recent days,
the broad-based investigation has focused on one particular transaction
during the 2002 campaign. In late
September 2002, Colyandro, the executive director of Texans for a Republican
Majority, sent a blank check to Ellis, who is DeLay's primary fundraiser in
Washington. According to
the money-laundering indictment returned against those two last year, Ellis
was accused of having the Republican National Committee launder $190,000 of
corporate donations into noncorporate money that was sent to to seven Texas House
candidates, including Austinites Jack Stick and Todd Baxter. As late as
Tuesday, Travis County prosecutors were interviewing Republican National
Committee staffers about their roles in the transaction. Even with DeLay
indicted, many Republicans will breathe a sigh of relief that Craddick and
others weren't indicted. Theoretically,
prosecutors could ask another grand jury to consider charges between now and
the Nov. 2 anniversary of the 2002 election, when a three-year statute of
limitations expires. But the defense lawyers expect today to be the last
chance for 2002 allegations. "What will
you know in October," said one defense lawyer, "that you didn't
know the past six months?" DeLay fund gets $400,000 for legal expenses House Majority
Leader still owes $125,000 in legal fees The Associated Press WASHINGTON
- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, accepted more than $400,000 in
donations last year to help fight the various ethical allegations against
him, but still owes three law firms at least $125,000 for his ongoing legal
expenses. Financial
disclosure forms released Wednesday show that the Texas Republican took in
$439,300 in contributions to his legal expense fund in 2004, when questions
first arose about his ties to a lobbyist under federal criminal
investigation, Jack Abramoff. Other reports show that $254,250 of those
contributions came to DeLay's legal defense fund during the last three months
of 2004. He still owes three
law firms between $125,003 and $315,000 combined for his legal expenses, and
three major companies who have in the past given to his fund — American
Airlines, Verizon and Nissan North America Inc. — have said they will no
longer contribute. Questionable
travels DeLay has strenuously
denied any wrongdoing and said he wants to appear before the House ethics
committee to clear himself. DeLay reported no
overseas trips in 2004, but noted several trips around the country including
a trip to Palm Springs, Calif., paid for by the Barbara Sinatra Children's
Center and one to Miami paid for by his own nonprofit Foundation for Kids. Other lawmakers have
become sensitive on the issue. House Minority Whip
Steny Hoyer, D-Md., reported three sponsor-paid trips, including one to India
paid for by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Hoyer also is among a
group of House lawmakers who amended their financial disclosure forms to
disclose previously undeclared trips after questions were raised about
DeLay's trips. Hoyer's disclosure of nine previously unreported trips date to
November 1997, when Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government paid to
send him to London. Rep.
David Obey, D-Wis., ranking Democrat on House Appropriations Committee, also
went on two trips sponsored by the Aspen Institute, one to Puerto Rico and
the Bahamas, the other to Venice and Paris. He included a disclaimer in his
forms that said, in part, "no lobbyists or anyone they represent are either
allowed to attend or to finance in any way the conferences involved." The
annual financial disclosure records show Americans what their lawmakers owned
and owed, the investments they bought and sold, the accounts they established
for their children and the income they earned from noncongressional
endeavors. Pay for rank-and-file
lawmakers in 2004 was $158,100, with floor leaders' salaries set at $175,700,
and the speaker's compensation fixed at $203,000. Thank-you
gifts The sword, which hangs
in Shays' Capitol Hill office, was a token of Perot's appreciation for a long
investigation Shays' Government Reform subcommittee did into the effects of
and treatment for the Gulf War illnesses. House Speaker Dennis
Hastert, R-Ill., listed assets including a Washington rental townhouse worth
$250,001 to $500,000 with a mortgage of $50,001 to $100,000; a mutual fund
worth $50,001 to $100,000; and a one-quarter share of a 69-acre property in
Plano, Ill., worth $250,001 to $500,000 and a mortgage to match. The form also shows
Hastert receiving no royalties for last year's publication of his book,
`Speaker: Lessons from Forty Years of Coaching and Politics.' An aide said he
will receive income this year. House Democratic
leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ranks as one of the richest House members with
assets including a vineyard in St. Helena, Calif. worth $5 million to $25
million; a townhouse in Norden, Calif., worth $1 million to $5 million; an
option on San Francisco property worth $1 million to $5 million and rental
income from the vineyard bringing in $50,001 to $100,000. Pelosi, the daughter of a former mayor and congressman from Baltimore, holds her assets jointly with her husband, Paul, a San Francisco businessman who has a long list of stock holdings, many in high-tech firms. DeLay angered by 'Law
& Order' mention
Friday,
May 27, 2005 Posted: 3:03 AM EDT (0703 GMT)
WASHINGTON
(CNN) -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay reacted angrily Thursday to this
week's episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" for what he
called a "manipulation of my name" in the show. The show's executive producer
responded by accusing DeLay of trying to change "the spotlight from his
own problems to an episode of a TV show." The controversy centers around
Wednesday's episode in which a police officer investigating a murder of a
federal judge suggested putting out an all points bulletin for "somebody
in a Tom DeLay T-shirt." "This manipulation of my
name and trivialization of the sensitive issue of judicial security
represents a reckless disregard for the suffering initiated by recent tragedies
and a great disservice to public discourse," DeLay wrote in a letter to
NBC President Jeff Zucker. "I can only assume last
night's slur was in response to comments I have made in the past about the
need for Congress to closely monitor the federal judiciary, as prescribed in
our constitutional system of checks and balances." DeLay has been an outspoken
critic of what he calls "activist judges," recently saying Congress
must take steps to rein in an "out-of-control judiciary." Responding to DeLay's attack
on "Law & Order," Dick Wolf, the show's executive producer and
creator, made no apologies. "Every week,
approximately 100 million people see an episode of the branded 'Law &
Order' series. Up until today, it was my impression that all of our viewers understood
that these shows are works of fiction as is stated in each episode. "But I do congratulate
Congressman DeLay for switching the spotlight from his own problems to an
episode of a TV show." Kevin Reilly, president of NBC
Entertainment, which broadcasts "Law & Order," said the line in
question "involved an exasperated detective bedeviled by a lack of
clues, making a sarcastic comment about the futility of looking for a suspect
when no specific description existed." "This isolated piece of
gritty 'cop talk' was neither a political comment nor an accusation. It's not
unusual for L & O to mention real names in its fictional stories. We're
confident in our viewers' ability to distinguish between the two." DeLay has been at the center
of a controversy over allegations he went on overseas trips that were
improperly paid for by lobbyists. In addition, the House Ethics Committee
admonished the majority leader three times in 2004 on separate issues. On Thursday, a Texas judge
found that the treasurer of a political committee founded by DeLay violated
state campaign laws, although DeLay was not accused of wrongdoing in the
ruling. (Full
story) DeLay did not mention specific examples in his lett |
