GOP Unites Behind DeLay After 3 Aides Are Charged

[quaoar]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43096-2004Sep22.html

8 Public Interest Groups Seek Ethics Panel Action

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 23, 2004; Page A04

House Republicans rallied around Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) yesterday, but they could not prevent news of Tuesday's indictments of three of his political associates from dampening a GOP celebration marking nearly 10 years of House control.

Republican leaders and back-benchers defended DeLay, saying a Texas grand jury's action this week has not shaken their confidence in the 10-term lawmaker. The panel indicted three of DeLay's political associates on charges of illegally collecting corporate donations and funneling them to Texas legislative races.

The grand jury did not interview DeLay, and he said he has done nothing improper. DeLay's House colleagues echoed that claim yesterday, giving him a standing ovation at the GOP caucus's weekly meeting and defending him before reporters.

"When anybody drops indictments 40 days before an election, there's a political spin to it," Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said. "Tom DeLay is somebody I've stood for, I've stood with. . . . I continue to look forward" to working with him.

[Roland99]

1. Hastert is a fvcking asshole!

If DeLay hadn't been DELAYING the investigation, the indictments would have been handed down long ago.


Fucking hypocrites.

[leesa]

2. The GOP always supports their criminals.

[Lefty48197]

3. It sounds like DeLay is history.

The standing ovation, Hastert's "I continu to look forward to working with him" comment. Those are the kisses of death.

[Vogon_Glory]

21. Sorry, But the Law Hasn't Yet Caught Up With DeLay

Sorry, but the law hasn't yet caught up with Tom DeLay. That one has plenty of political life in him yet.

What would need to happen to knock Tom DeLay out of the box would be for prosecutors to find enough evidence linking Tom DeLay personally to some of the criminal campaign activities he's accused of being involved with and to convince a sitting jury that he's guilty.

This might be tougher than we think. The Texas state legislature meets next year and unless enough Democrats and enough Republicans who still believe in honest government unite to stop it, I wouldn't put it past the Texas state legislature to pass legislature to remove the authority to investigate such criminal wrongdoing from the Travis County prosecutor or to strip funding for such investigations.

It's not like DeLay likely to be rejected by his core constituents. I don't think that DeLay's constituents care as much about honest government as they do about chasing "hommosexshuls" or outlawing abortion.

Nevertheless, I did my small part. I've made a contribution to Richard Morrison's campaign.

[JohnnyCougar]

4. Who is running against him?

Is there any chance of beating this guy?

[quaoar]

7. Richard Morrison

He is attracting quite a bit of attention and money and has forced DeLay to actually campaign in his district.

http://www.richardmorrisonfordistrict22.com/

[JohnnyCougar]

9. what are the polls showing?

[quaoar]

10. It's in this story

http://www.richardmorrisonfordistrict22.com/news/KHOU_morrison_040907.htm

[JohnnyCougar]

11. nice...and that was on sept 6

Imagine what it is now with the scandal and everything!

I should donate money.

[fudge stripe cookays]

24. Yes, you should!

Quite a bit of Morrison's money has come from folks out of state.

When Texans starting throwing his name all over these boards and made people aware that someone was running against DeLay, it was like wildfire. Morrison fever took hold. And he's on Dean's Dozen too. At the state convention in Houston, he was a celebrity. Everybody likes this guy.

Don't discount the Bugman yet though. He's like one of those roaches that can live for a week with its head cut off. He's in dire straits, but he's got lots of powerful friends.

Go on son! Poney up that checkbook!
FSC

[Renew Deal]

5. I hope the Plame charges come out soon.

:evilgrin:

[BootinUp]

6. Cry Me a River Hastert!

:nopity:

This Delay thing is just getting started.

[truthisfreedom]

8. it would be nice to see something stick to one of these corrupt weasel

'thugs in Congress. anyone would do. delay is as good as anyone else.

[beanball]

12. Tom DeLay

should be doing hard time,that piece of Texas cow manure is a crook in the Nixon tradition.

[TankLV]

13. As if ANYONE would be shocked by this!

NT

[Kimber Scott]

14. Enforcing the law is political. I guess everything should wait until

after the election. Plame indictments. Bombing Fallujah. Election Finance Fraud.

[struggle4progress]

15. Top Aides at DeLay PAC Charged in Multiple Count Indictment

(Houston – September 21, 2004) John Colyandro, executive director of Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC), along with two other top aides, Warren Robold, a Washington, DC fundraiser and Jim Ellis, a key DeLay aide, were indicted today by a Travis County grand jury. Following a two-year investigation into illegal solicitations of corporate contributions for Republican state legislative races, the grand jury handed down a 32-count indictment. These are the first official charges stemming from two separate ethics investigations into illegal fundraising by DeLay and his lieutenants.

“Today’s indictment clearly shows DeLay sold legislative favors to the highest corporate bidder,” said Morrison. “I call on the House Ethics committee to follow the Travis County grand jury’s lead and continue the investigation in Washington. If DeLay is found guilty, he should step down as Majority Leader and resign his seat in Congress. The people of Texas deserve an honorable representative in Washington.”

The corruption began three years ago when DeLay and his top political aides founded TRMPAC with the explicit goal of raising corporate money to influence state legislative races. Texas law clearly forbids corporations from financing political campaigns and from purchasing favors from elected officials. By the 2002 election cycle, TRMPAC had achieved its goal and had nearly $600,000 in corporate contributions in its coffers. The majority of funds came from corporations located in states other than Texas and many had regulatory and policy interests in Washington.

Among the corporations TRMPAC and DeLay solicited was the now defunct Enron. In 2001, DeLay specifically requested hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from Enron executives for his efforts in Texas redistricting, in exchange for assistance with the industry’s deregulation legislation in Washington. <snip>

http://www.richardmorrisonfordistrict22.com/contribute/contribute.php

[callous taoboy]

20. And any fool

would deny that * was a major player in the midst of these shennanigans.

[punpirate]

16. Soooo funny!

The party of crooks unites behind one of their biggest crooks.

Buying votes on the floor of the house. Extorting money from campaign contributors in exchange for legislation.

His nameplate in Congress should read "Pay-to-play DeLay."

GOP, thy name is corruption.

[Robbien]

17. DailyKos said that

"In any case, the source said that your phone calls (and there were a ton of them) slowed the rush toward giving DeLay a pass. Committee Dems are apparently now holding a harder line, and the outcome is once again up in the air."

But we need to keep the pressure on or the committee will give DeLay a pass. So please call demanding the ethics committee investigate DeLay.

Call all eight:

Republicans

Joel Hefley (CO-5)
202.225.4422

Doc Hastings (WA-4)
202.225.5816

Judy Biggert (IL-13)
202.225.3515

Kenny Hulshof (MO-9)
202.225.2956

Steven LaTourette (OH-14)
202.225.5731

Democrats

Alan Mollohan (WV-1)
202.225.4172

Stephanie Tubb Jones (OH-11)
202.225.7032

Gene Green (TX-29)
202.225.1688

Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)
202.225.1766

Michael Doyle (PA-14)
202.225.2135

[CityDem]

18. A great visual

Tom Delay being led out of the court house in an orange jump suit with handcuffs and leg irons.

[PROUDNWLIBERAL]

19. Against the Wall

Line him up against the wall---and I'm against capital punishment, but I'll turn my head on this one!!!

[napi21]

22. I've heard DeLay is very popular in Tx.

I wish Morrison a lot of luck, but it's VERY HARD to unseat a 10 term congressman.

[quaoar]

25. That's what Tom Foley assumed, too.

Do more than wish him luck. Send him a few bucks.

[truthisfreedom]

23. i hope they like the smell back there.

behind delay.

[Supersedeas]

26. Rally rally--Party Affiliation is ALL that matters.

[Demeter]

27. And With Any Luck They're Going to Push Him Off a Cliff

and into court and then jail and disgrace.