Tom Delay Resigns

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><center>Analysis:

For Republicans, DeLay adds to sea of problems </font size></center>

Robin Toner, New York Times
September 29, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This is not what the Republicans envisioned 11 months ago, when they were returned to office as a powerful one-party government with a big agenda and -- it seemed -- little to fear from the opposition.

The indictment of Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas and the House majority leader, on Wednesday was the latest in a series of scandals and setbacks that have buffeted Republican leaders in Congress and the Bush administration and transformed what might have been a victory lap into a hard political scramble. Republicans are still managing to score some wins -- notably, John Roberts' expected confirmation today as chief justice of the Supreme Court -- but their governing majority is showing major signs of strain.

Leadership woes

In the House, DeLay's indictment removes, even if temporarily, a powerful leader who managed to eke out, again and again, a narrow majority on some very difficult votes. In the Senate, Republican ranks have been roiled this week by an investigation of Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., their majority leader, who rose to power as a telegenic heart surgeon and citizen-politician but is now under scrutiny for his stock dealings from a blind trust.

Moreover, the string of ethical issues so close together -- including the indictment and continuing investigation of the Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was close to DeLay, and the arrest of David Safavian, a former White House budget official who was charged with lying to investigators and obstructing a federal inquiry involving Abramoff -- is a source of real anxiety in Republican circles.

"Even though DeLay has nothing to do with Frist and Frist has nothing to do with Abramoff, how does it look? Not good," said William Kristol, a key conservative strategist and editor of the Weekly Standard.

At the same time, the White House is grappling with a federal criminal investigation into whether anyone leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative -- an investigation that has brought both Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, and I. Lewis Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, before a grand jury.

And the Bush administration is struggling to steady itself after the slow response to Hurricane Katrina and defend itself from charges of incompetence and cronyism in homeland security.

The sheer scale and cost of Katrina has dramatically reordered the Republican agenda and created more fractures in the caucus and more discontent among the party's fiscal conservatives, who are appalled at the cost and the effect on the budget deficit.

Not unheard of

Analysts say this wave of internal trouble is characteristic of a president's second term -- all the more so when the same party controls Congress. "We know that second terms have historically been marred by hubris and by scandal," said David Gergen, a former aide to presidents in both parties who is now director of Harvard's Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School of Government. "We've seen the hubris," he added, alluding to Bush's attempt to restructure Social Security, now completely stalled. "And now we're seeing the scandals."

Ross Baker, an expert on Congress and a political science professor at Rutgers, argues that the lack of normal checks and balances -- with one party providing oversight from the Hill and an executive branch controlled by the opposing party, pushing back -- is also a problem. "What you're stuck with is oversight as a product of scandal, a product of catastrophe," Baker said. "It requires a blunder of major proportions, a calamity that is poorly addressed, before you get oversight."

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5641179.html

 

[Greed]

Re: For Republicans, DeLay adds to sea of problems

this wont be a problem for the republicans because the democrats are incompetent politicians. buried and under reported in news stories is how bush's aproval ratings are low but people have an even worse opinion of dems over how they act. polls show them as opportunistic.

sad how this will be a one party country like those shitty nations in europe.

 

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><center>DeLay to Announce Resignation From House</font size><font size="4">
Former House Leader Tom Delay to Announce His
Resignation From Congress, GOP Officials Say</font size></center>

ABC News
By DAVID ESPO AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON Apr 4, 2006 (AP)— Succumbing to scandal, former Majority Leader Tom Delay intends to resign from Congress within weeks, closing out a career that blended unflinching conservatism with a bare-knuckled political style.

DeLay is scheduled to appear on Fox News Channel Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. ET.

Republican officials said Monday night they expect the Texan to quit his seat later this spring. He was first elected in 1984, and conceded he faced a difficult race for re-election.

"He has served our nation with integrity and honor," said Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who succeeded DeLay in his leadership post earlier this year.

But Democrats said the developments marked more than the end to one man's career in Congress.

"Tom DeLay's decision to leave Congress is just the latest piece of evidence that the Republican Party is a party in disarray, a party out of ideas and out of energy," said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

A formal announcement of DeLay's plans was expected Tuesday at a news conference in Houston. In a video statement made available to television news networks late Monday, DeLay blamed "liberal Democrats" for making his re-election campaign largely a negative one.

"I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative personal campaign," DeLay said. "The voters of the 22nd district of Texas deserve a campaign about the vital national issues that they care most about and that affect their lives every day and not a campaign focused solely as a referendum on me."

DeLay is under indictment in Texas as part of an investigation into the allegedly illegal use of funds for state legislative races.

Separately, the Texan's ties with lobbyist Jack Abramoff caused him to formally surrender his post as majority leader in January, within days after the lobbyist entered into a plea bargain as part of a federal congressional corruption probe.

More recently, former DeLay aide Tony Rudy said he had conspired with Abramoff and others to corrupt public officials, and he promised to help the broad federal investigation of bribery and lobbying fraud that already has resulted in three convictions.

Neither Rudy, Abramoff nor anyone else connected with the investigation has publicly accused DeLay of breaking the law, but Rudy confessed that he had taken actions while working in the majority leader's office that were illegal.

DeLay has consistently denied all wrongdoing, and he capped a triumph in a contested GOP primary earlier this year with a vow to win re-election.

In an interview Monday with The Galveston County Daily News in Texas, DeLay said his change of mind was based partly on a poll taken after the March Republican primary that showed him only narrowly ahead of Democrat Nick Lampson. "Even though I thought I could win, it was a little too risky," the paper quoted him as saying.

In a separate interview with Time Magazine, DeLay says he plans to make his Virginia condominium his primary residence, a step that will disqualify him from the ballot in Texas and permit GOP officials there to field a replacement candidate.

It was not clear Monday night whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry would call a special election to fill out the unexpired portion of DeLay's term, or whether the seat would remain vacant until it is filled in November.

Either way, DeLay's concern about the potential loss of a Houston-area seat long in Republican hands reflected a deeper worry among GOP strategists. After a dozen years in the majority, they face a strong challenge from Democrats this fall, at a time when President Bush's public support is sagging, and when the Abramoff scandal has helped send congressional approval ratings tumbling.

Until scandal sent him to the sidelines, DeLay had held leadership posts since the Republicans won control of the House in a 1994 landslide. At first, he had to muscle his way to the table, defeating then-Speaker Newt Gingrich's handpicked candidate to become whip.

But DeLay quickly established himself as a forceful presence earning a nickname as "The Hammer" and he easily became majority leader when the spot opened up.

He sat at the nexus of legislation, lobbying, political campaigns and money.

And while he was a conservative, he raised millions of dollars for the campaigns of fellow House Republicans regardless of their ideology, earning their gratitude in the process.

He supported tax cuts, limits on abortions, looser government regulation of business and other items on the conservative agenda, and he rarely backed down.

DeLay was the driving force behind President Clinton's impeachment in 1999, weeks after Republicans lost seats at the polls in a campaign in which they tried to make an issue of Clinton's personal behavior.

His trademark aggressiveness helped trigger his downfall, when he led a drive to redraw Texas' congressional district boundaries to increase the number of seats in GOP hands.

The gambit succeeded, but DeLay was soon caught up in an investigation involving the use of corporate funds in the campaigns of legislators who had participated in the redistricting.

He attacked prosecutor Ronnie Earle as an "unabashed partisan zealot," and said numerous times he hoped to clear himself of the charges quickly and renew his claim to the majority leader's office.

The trial has yet to begin.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1803255&page=1

 

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><center>
After Much Delay</font size><font size="6">
Tom DeLay </font size><font size="5">
and Co-defendants Finally to
appear in Texas court for pretrial hearing</font size></center>

By Dave Montgomery
dmontgomery@star-telegram.com
Aug. 23, 2010



AUSTIN -- After protracted delays, a 5-year-old criminal case against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will surge back into public view today, when he and two co-defendants appear in a pretrial hearing related to charges that they laundered corporate campaign contributions in the 2002 elections.

The hearing on a series of pretrial motions may last three days and will set the stage for a trial on charges leveled in 2005, when the former Texas congressman was at the height of his political powers.

Since then, DeLay has relinquished his Houston-area congressional seat and his leadership post as the second-highest ranking member of the House, but he has continued to keep a visible profile as a voice for conservative causes. He also made an unlikely appearance on prime-time television as a short-lived contestant on ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

The Justice Department recently announced that it has ended its six-year inquiry into allegations of dealings between DeLay and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was convicted in a corruption investigation that rocked Washington. DeLay won't be indicted in that investigation, the department's public integrity sector determined.

<font size="4">Channeling contributions is alleged </font size>

DeLay will appear in 331st District Court with co-defendants John Colyandro of Austin and Jim Ellis of Washington. The state's case against DeLay and his two former aides has droned through Texas courts since it began unfolding, with prosecutors and defense lawyers slugging it out in appeals and counterappeals.

The case took a crucial turn in April when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals effectively cleared the way for a trial. DeLay has repeatedly insisted that he will be vindicated if the case comes to trial.

"He's been frustrated for the past 41/2 years, but he's happy to be able to see some light at the end of the tunnel," said DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin of Houston.

The investigation had its roots in Republicans' successful efforts to take over the Texas House of Representatives when DeLay, a congressman from Sugar Land, was majority leader in the Republican-led U.S. House.

An indictment returned by a Travis County grand jury alleges that the defendants laundered corporate contributions -- which are illegal in state legislative races -- through a $190,000 check sent to the Republican National Committee, which in turn donated $190,000 to seven GOP candidates.

The defendants have vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

DeLay's chief legal combatant, former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, retired in 2008, but the prosecution against DeLay and his co-defendants has continued under Earle's successor, Rosemary Lehmberg. DeLay has repeatedly maintained that Earle, a Democrat, targeted him as part of a political vendetta against Republicans, an acccusation that Earle repeatedly denied.

Dave Montgomery is chief of the Star-Telegram's Austin bureau. 512-476-4294


http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/23/2420198/delay-co-defendants-to-appear.html

 

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><center>:
DeLay convicted of money laundering charges</font size></center>

Tom Delay, his wife, Christine, and daugh-
ter Danielle Garcia leave the courthouse
after Wednesday's verdict


Houston Chronicle
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
and PEGGY FIKAC
AUSTIN BUREAU
Nov. 24, 2010


AUSTIN — Eight years after former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay helped engineer a Republican takeover of the Texas House and state congressional delegation, a Travis County jury Wednesday convicted him of felony money laundering in the 2002 elections.

DeLay, of Sugar Land, was convicted in a scheme to funnel corporate donations to seven Texas House candidates through a money swap with the Republican National Committee. Corporate money cannot legally be donated to candidates in Texas.

He faces two to 20 years in prison on a conspiracy charge and five to 99 years or life on a money laundering charge. He is free on bail, with sentencing tentatively set for Dec. 20.

DeLay and his family did not react when the verdict was read. But after the court was dismissed, DeLay received a hug and kiss from his wife, Christine. His adult daughter, Dani DeLay Garcia, buried her face against his shoulder and began sobbing. DeLay's face turned red as he fought back tears.

Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin called the verdict "a terrible miscarriage of justice" and pledged to appeal. "I'm very, very disappointed. This will never stand up."

DeLay, as from the outset, said the case was all politics.

"I'm not going to blame anyone. This is an abuse of power. … ," DeLay said. "And I still maintain that I am innocent. The criminalization of politics undermines our system."

Lead prosecutor Gary Cobb said the jury acted without a political agenda and made a decision based on the facts.

"We thought the citizens of Travis County would see this case for what it was, a corrupt politician who was caught violating the laws of the state," Cobb said.

The case originally was brought in 2005 by then-District Attorney Ronnie Earle. DeLay said Earle, a Democrat, was on a political vendetta.

Earle's successor, District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, noted that, as the DeLay case began, her office won a corruption conviction of state Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview. She said the cases together show there is nothing partisan about her investigators and prosecutors.

"This case is a message from the citizens of the state of Texas that the public officials they elect to represent them must do so honestly, ethically or else they will be held accountable," she said.

The six-man, six-woman jury promised each other that they would not talk to the media afterward. Visiting Judge Pat Priest assured them he would not immediately release their names.

<font size="4">Saga began in 2001</font size>

One juror agreed to speak briefly to reporters as long as neither the gender nor any identifying features be given away. The juror said the decision was based on the weight of the evidence.

"It was just everything," the juror said.

The saga began in 2001 when DeLay was the third most powerful member of the U.S. House as the majority whip. The GOP majority was a mere nine out of 435 members.

To guarantee a majority, Republican seats needed to be added, and one witness in the case described Texas as the "gold mine." To get a congressional redistricting plan that favored the GOP, the party had to get control of a Texas House that Democrats had held since Reconstruction.

DeLay already had a national political committee called Americans for a Republican Majority, run by Jim Ellis. DeLay decided to clone the organization and call it Texans for a Republican Majority. Ellis chose his friend John Colyandro to run it.

DeLay attended fundraisers and met with corporate donors to TRMPAC.


<font size="4">Timeline laid out</font size>

Testimony in the case showed TRMPAC was running too short of funds in the general election to make major donations to Republican House candidates. Colyandro and Ellis began to arrange for a swap of TRMPAC corporate money for donations given to the Republican National Committee by individuals.

Prosecutors laid out a timeline for jurors.

• Aug. 27, 2002: DeLay met in his Sugar Land office with RNC Political Director Terry Nelson to discuss Republican prospects in congressional races nationally. Records indicate Ellis may have attended that meeting.

• Sept. 10: Colyandro signed a blank check and had it sent to Ellis in Washington, D.C.

• Sept. 11: A Federal Express receipt shows the check arrived at Ellis' office at 11:58 a.m. DeLay's calendar showed Ellis at a group meeting in DeLay's office from 1-2:30 p.m. Two DeLay aides testified that they did not believe DeLay attended the meeting.

• Sept. 13: Ellis met with Nelson to arrange to swap $190,000 in corporate money from TRMPAC for donations to candidates from the RNC's noncorporate account. Ellis also gave Nelson a list of seven candidates who were to receive the $190,000 in candidate-eligible funds.

• Oct. 2: DeLay's calendar showed he met with Ellis on ARMPAC business. DeGuerin said that was when Ellis told DeLay about the money swap. During the trial, DeLay told reporters he could have stopped the swap then, but thought it was legal.

• Oct. 4: Checks totaling $190,000 were cut for the seven Texas House candidates.

The Republicans won a majority in the Texas House in the November 2002 elections. That led to a bitter redistricting battle in 2003. The new congressional district map resulted in the partisan majority in the Texas congressional delegation shifting from 17-15 favoring the Democrats to 21-11 favoring the Republicans.

Earle's office began looking into several allegations of campaign finance law violations in January 2003. Prosecutors interviewed DeLay in August 2005, and he then said he knew of the money exchange in advance.

DeLay later said he did not learn of it until after Ellis made the deal with Nelson.


<font size="4">Resigned from Congress</font size>

His indictment in October 2005 forced DeLay to resign as House majority leader.

When legal wrangling kept DeLay from getting a speedy trial, he resigned his congressional seat.

Colyandro and Ellis face similar charges in the case, but will be tried separately.

One of the biggest blows to DeLay in the trial occurred Wednesday when Priest told the jury that if there was a conspiracy, DeLay could have entered it at any time before the checks were delivered to the candidates. That meant DeLay could be a party to the conspiracy even if he became involved after Ellis cut the deal with Nelson.

DeGuerin has contended that no money laundering occurred because TRMPAC legally could raise corporate money and legally transfer it to the RNC. DeGuerin said the RNC then legally could send money raised from individuals to the candidates.

Cobb said what made the case money laundering was the list of candidates Ellis gave Nelson earmarking the corporate money.

San Antonio Express-News reporter Peggy Fikac contributed to this story.

r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7308000.html