House Majority Leader Tom DeLay indicted on one count of criminal conspiracy by Texas

[chomerics]

This is absolutely attempted payback for the redistricting. But it wasnt illegal. Just typical politics.

And if you think getting indicted is "paying the price", my guess is it's a cheap price to pay.

He wont be found guilty.

We had the exact same thing happen here in Mass. At the state level, we had a democrat Tom Finneran who was just as bad as Delay. He wouldn't let votes come to the floor, pandered to his supporters, and god forbid if you voted against him, you'd get put on the Siberian Ice Gathering commitee. We FINALLY got him out of the position because he did the exact same thing Delay did with gerrymandering, but they found another reason to force his resignation. It works on both sides, and I absolutely DESPISE people who think they are above the law. Hell, I was one of the initial supporters of the "Oust Finneran" movement.

As for the "illegal" part in Texas, ummm, well when you suspend all state laws to pass through a redistricting plan that goes against the courts ruling, then I consider it illegal. You could say it was "technically" legal, but we all know what happened.

[Kilmer17]

techincally legal is all that matters.

Kudos to you for abhoring the practice by either side. I just accept it as the way politics works.

What the GOP did was reverse absurdly drawn districts that favored Dems.

To the victors go the spoils.

[chomerics]

techincally legal is all that matters.

Ain't it the truth :doh:

[stevenaa]

I've been hearing the indictment is very shaky and doesn't use any facts in the allegation of wrong doing. I also heard it doesn't list specific charges against Delay. Anyone with a legal mind seen the indictment care to comment.

[Predicto]

I've been hearing the indictment is very shaky and doesn't use any facts in the allegation of wrong doing. I also heard it doesn't list specific charges against Delay. Anyone with a legal mind seen the indictment care to comment.

Haven't seen it yet, so I don't know.

The "very shaky" thing I have seen, on every right wing blog and news source. It has that orchestrated look about it. I doubt many of them have seen it either.

[Art Monk Fan]

You can find the indictment here:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0928051delay1.html

For the record, I don't think Earle is a partisan, and I think DeLay is making a tactical error in making the claim. It is pretty clear from Earle's track record that he is a reckless prosecutor and that he does a fairly poor job in building his cases. It's also pretty obvious that he's got a personal vendetta with DeLay, for whatever reason.

[Predicto]

Thanks. Looks like a basic indictment for conspiracy. Money came in, funneled thru DeLay's PAC and the RNC back to candidates that the contributors could not directly send money to. I can't say if it is shaky because I don't know what other evidence they have (they don't have to include everything in an indictment, just enough to tell the defendants what they are up against).

I guess proving this one is going to come down to a question of intent. Of course, since The Hammer is THE moneyman for the Republicans, we all know he did control the money. Whether they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt and whether what he did was really an illegal act, I have no idea.

[Predicto]

You can find the indictment here:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0928051delay1.html

For the record, I don't think Earle is a partisan, and I think DeLay is making a tactical error in making the claim. It is pretty clear from Earle's track record that he is a reckless prosecutor and that he does a fairly poor job in building his cases. It's also pretty obvious that he's got a personal vendetta with DeLay, for whatever reason.

Yeah, he reminds me of that guy from New Orleans who was obsessed with the Kennedy assassination.

[Art Monk Fan]

Thanks. Looks like a basic indictment for conspiracy. Money came in, funneled thru DeLay's PAC and the RNC back to candidates that the contributors could not directly send money to. I can't say if it is shaky because I don't know what other evidence they have (they don't have to include everything in an indictment, just enough to tell the defendants what they are up against).

I guess proving this one is going to come down to a question of intent. Of course, since The Hammer is THE moneyman for the Republicans, we all know he did control the money. Whether they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt and whether what he did was really an illegal act, I have no idea.

Firstly, the actions of the PAC and the RNC were legal, and the DNC did the same thing in October 2002.

Secondly, even if they were illegal, Earle would have to prove that DeLay both knew about the actions beforehand and that he helped to direct these actions.

Thirdly, Ealre has to prove that Delay did these things while physically in the state of Texas in order to have jurisdiction.

In order to arrive at this point Earle has spent 34 months and gone through 6 seperate grand juries.

I know it's the National Review, but here's a piece on the way Earle works: http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200509290811.asp

[Predicto]

Firstly, the actions of the PAC and the RNC were legal, and the DNC did the same thing in October 2002.

Not that simple. The PAC and RNC may not have separately violated any independent laws, but that does not mean a law hasn't been violated. For example, assume it is legal to buy assault rifles in Texas. However, it's illegal to own them in DC. If you go to Texas to buy some assault rifles to bring back to DC, you are going to get in trouble in DC even though they were legally purchased in Texas. (please do not fixate on the gun stuff, people - it's just an example.)

This may or may not be a charge than can stick, but the fact that the RNC did not do anything separately illgal does not resolve anything.

Secondly, even if they were illegal, Earle would have to prove that DeLay both knew about the actions beforehand and that he helped to direct these actions.

Agreed. Although I have no doubt about the truth of either of these things, they are not going to be easy to prove.

Thirdly, Ealre has to prove that Delay did these things while physically in the state of Texas in order to have jurisdiction.

I have no idea if this is true.

In order to arrive at this point Earle has spent 34 months and gone through 6 seperate grand juries.

I'm not sure what this means. Grand jury terms are limited. As I understand it, cases routinely pass along to the next grand jury.

There is no question that this guy is a zealot in the Inspector Jauvert/Ken Starr mold. I am not sure how partisan he is given his history. He seems to go after whoever is in power at the time.

[stevenaa]

"For the record, I don't think Earle is a partisan"

He's definately partisan. I heard a video clip of him at a Dem fundraiser, and he said if it wasn't Delay, their would be another "Delay". He was talking about taking down republican leadership. He made these comments during the time the Delay investigation was/is going. He may very well be in hot water with the Bar before it's over, since it is against ethics for him to comment on and on going investigation. I understand it is an action that could get him disbarred, but I have no idea if that is true.

[@DCGoldPants]

disbarred eh? where did you hear that?

I'm sure he's a partisan. but his ratio of going after Dems over Repubs is just about the biggest "F-U" to the people try to use that against him.

Maybe he's a crappy lawyer or politician. But, you can't say he just goes after one type of people.

[Joe Sick]

Ronnie Earle doesn't have the cleanest track record, has been dogged by accusations of abuse of power his whole career, and has had mutliple convictions overturned becuase of his borderline and illegal tactics.

EARLE HAS PROSECUTED FOUR TIMES AS MANY DEMOCRATS AS REPUBLICANS: “Over Earle’s 27-year tenure, his Public Integrity Unit has prosecuted 15 elected officials, including 12 Democrats.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/15/05]

EARLE PROSECUTED DEMOCRATS AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF STATE GOVERNMENT: “Some of the Democrats prosecuted by Earle and his Public Integrity Unit are former Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis, former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox, former State Treasurer Warren Harding and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough.” [AP, 12/12/04]

EARLE AIDES WENT ON TO RUN FOR OFFICE AS REPUBLICANS: “Some of his top assistants have been with him for decades. A few have gone on to run for elected office as Republicans.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/15/05]

FRIEND OF OFFICIAL TARGETED BY EARLE CALLED HIM A ‘BOY SCOUT’: “Democrats, for their part, are still upset over the prosecution of Attorney General Jim Mattox for bribery in 1985. … He was acquitted and years later, Jim Marston, a civil lawyer in Austin and friend of Mr. Mattox, asked Earle why he went ahead with the questionable case. “I said, ‘Ronnie, how can it be an abuse of power to threaten a lawyer? We threaten each other all the time.’ He told me that elected officials are held to a higher standard. They are supposed to be [above suspicion] like Caesar’s wife.’ It was then that Mr. Marston realized how deep Earle’s principles run. ‘Ronnie Earle is a Boy Scout who is offended by wrongdoings, chief among them, public officials’ abuse of power.’ [Christian Science Monitor, 12/03/04]

EARLE HAS REPUTATION AS PRINCIPLED, ‘OVERLY CAUTIOUS’: “Deliberate in the capital cases he sends to juries, Earle is well known for examining an issue from all angles before acting. ‘If I have any complaint about Ronnie, it’s that he is overly cautious about who he prosecutes,’ says Marston. ‘The fact that it has taken two years to investigate Tom DeLay is a sign not of partisanship, but of being completely careful.’” [Christian Science Monitor, 12/03/04]

EARLE HAS REPUTATION FOR ‘STRONG MORAL STREAK’: “[T]o those who know him, Earle has always exhibited a strong moral streak - from his formative years growing up in a small town outside Fort Worth, to his time on the Austin night court, to his political service in the state legislature. But they contend his morality is tempered by his compassion. ‘Ronnie is very principled and will do the right thing even if it isn’t the smartest political thing to do,’ says Ellen Halbert, a victim’s rights advocate.” [Christian Science Monitor, 12/03/04]

EARLE HAS REPUTATION FOR RESPECTING THE RULES: “‘One of the things I admired most about Ronnie was his indefatigable ability to go and meet with groups all over town all the time–right-wing groups, left-wing groups, the Rotary,’ says Bill Reid, an attorney who retired from Earle’s office in 1997. ‘He’s not a bloodthirsty prosecutor who wanted to get notches on his gun. There are some who have a reputation for walking close to the line in terms of evidence and rights, but there was never a push or inclination from him that we ought to bend the rules. Working for him, I was doing what I wanted to do, and I could go home and sleep at night.’” [Los Angeles Times, 5/15/05]

HOUSTON CHRONICLE: ALLEGATIONS OF PARTISANSHIP NOT SUPPORTED BY FACTS: Chronicle editorial: “The record does not support allegations that Earle is prone to partisan witch hunts.” [3/17/03]

[Joe Sick]

"DeLay’s Dirty (Baker’s) Dozen

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been a busy man these last few years. Whether bribing congressmen, threatening political opponents, vacationing with lobbyists, or gutting House ethics rules, it’s been hard to keep up with all the Hammer’s activities. Here are thirteen highlights from DeLay’s illustrious career:

DELAY KILLED INVESTIGATION INTO LABOR ABUSE IN MARIANAS ISLANDS: In 1998, DeLay helped kill a “congressional fact-finding trip that was being planned as part of an investigation of sweatshop conditions in the garment industry in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.” Jack Abramoff represented the Northern Mariana Islands at the time, aiding them in their quest to avoid U.S. labor laws. To this end, Abramoff flew dozens of lawmakers and their aides for luxurious vacations to the balmy islands, including one 1997-98 New Year’s trip for DeLay and his wife. (It was on this trip that DeLay called Abramoff “one of my closest and dearest friends.”) Later that year, Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) decided to leading a fact-finding investigation into worker abuse in the islands’ garment industry. When DeLay caught wind of the investigation, his office threatened the Hoekstra with loss of his subcommittee chairmanship if he continued.

DELAY RAISED CORPORATE CASH FOR TRMPAC: DeLay is embroiled in a scandal in Texas for his active participation in illegally funneling corporate funds to assist state political campaigns. DeLay’s political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), is under criminal investigation for using corporate money to finance Texas campaigns. DeLay has tried to distance himself from the group, but documents show DeLay “personally forwarded at least one large check” to the group and was “in direct contact with lobbyists for some of the nation’s largest companies” on TRMPAC’s behalf. [source: NYT, 3/10/05; Salon, 10/04/04]

DELAY BRIBED CONGRESSMAN TO VOTE FOR MEDICARE: DeLay has admitted offering to endorse Sen. Nick Smith’s (R-MI) son Brad, who was running for Congress at the time, in exchange for Smith’s “yea” vote on the Medicare bill. His actions violated House rules and earned DeLay a “public admonishment” from the Ethics Committee. Smith originally alleged — and then retracted after pressure from House leaders — that DeLay also offered a $100,000 bribe for his vote. DeLay extended the role call on the Medicare bill for nearly three hours in order “to avoid an embarrassing loss.” [slate, 10/1/04; WP, 10/1/04]

DELAY USED TAXPAYER MONEY FOR PARTISAN STUNT: The House ethics panel rebuked DeLay for using government resources to help locate a private plane he thought was carrying Texas Democratic legislators. DeLay was trying to force the legislators back to the capitol so he could push through his “bitterly disputed congressional redistricting.” The ethics report cited House rules that bar members from taking “any official action on the basis of the partisan affiliation…of the individuals involved” and said DeLay’s behavior raised “serious concerns under such “standards of conduct.” [WP, 10/7/04]

DELAY PAID FOR GOLF TOURNAMENTS WITH CASH MEANT FOR KIDS: DeLay used a children’s charity, Celebrations for Children Inc., as cover for collecting soft money from anonymous interest groups, some of which was used for “dinners, a golf tournament, a rock concert, Broadway tickets and other fundraising events” at the Republican convention in New York. Because the money was supposedly for charity, companies wishing to curry favor with DeLay were able to do so without revealing themselves as campaign donors. Federal laws governing tax-exempt charities allow no more than an insubstantial portion of a group’s revenue to be spent on activities other than the charity’s main stated purpose. [CBS, 11/14/03; WP, 3/24/04]

DELAY PROMISED ‘SEAT AT TABLE’ FOR DONOR: In one of its three public rebukes, the House Ethics Committee cited the belief on the part of executives at an energy company, Westar Energy Inc., that a $56,500 contribution to a political action committee associated with DeLay would get them a “seat at the table” where key energy legislation was being drafted. DeLay also participated in Westar’s golf fundraiser at The Homestead resort in the summer of 2002, ” just as the House-Senate conference on major energy legislation…was about to get underway.” [WP, 10/7/04]

DELAY TOOK MONEY FROM TEXAS PRISON COMPANY WITH LEGISLATION PENDING: DeLay “took a $100,000 check from a private prison company” — the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) — at a fundraiser for his children’s charity, the DeLay Foundation for Kids. CCA — whose 20-year history has been “fraught with malfeasance, mismanagement, and abuse” — was part of an ongoing lobby for a bill that would privatize up to half of Texas’s jails. DeLay is known for wielding major influence over the Republican-led legislature that will decide on the matter. [Knight Ridder, 11/30/04; Texas Observer, 6/6/03]

DELAY BLOCKED LEGISLATION FOR PARTISAN VENDETTA: In 1999, DeLay received a “private rebuke” for threatening retaliation against the Electronic Industries Association when the trade group named a Democrat to head its Washington operation. To punish the group, DeLay stopped two uncontroversial trade bills that would have benefited the EIA and told the association it would lose all GOP access unless it hired a Republican instead. The group still hired the Democrat, but a little later, the EIA quietly hired a former House Republican staff member who promptly showed up at a fundraiser for DeLay’s ARMPAC. [Texas Observer, 2/4/00; Slate, 12/5/98]

DELAY TOOK SHADY DONATIONS FOR LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: The list of recent donors to DeLay’s legal defense fund includes two lawmakers placed on the House Ethics Committee this year (they replaced conservatives who were purged for being critical of DeLay), and corporations implicated in DeLay’s alleged fundraising violations. Corporate donors include Bacardi U.S.A., the rum maker that has also been indicted in the Texas investigation, and Reliant Energy, “another major contributor to a Texas political action committee formed by Mr. DeLay that is the focus of the criminal inquiry.” In December, DeLay was forced to return funds from registered lobbyists because those contributions violated House ethics rules. [NYT, 3/13/05; Time, 3/13/05]

DELAY LEFT ETHICS BEHIND ON EUROPEAN VACATION: DeLay enjoyed a luxurious vacation at the Four Seasons Hotel in London in mid-2000, paid for by an Indian tribe and a gambling services company, both of which opposed gambling legislation DeLay voted against two months later. The payment was funneled through lobbyist Jack Abramoff, best known for teaming up with right-wing religious fundamentalist Ralph Reed to close down a Texas casino operated by the Tigua Indians in 2002, then persuading the tribe to pay the two of them $4.2 million to lobby Washington lawmakers, including DeLay, to reopen it. According to expense accounts obtained by the Journal, Abramoff financed DeLay and DeLay’s staff’s stay at the Four Seasons hotel to the tune of $4,285.35. The total reimbursement for expenses in London was $13,318.50. [WP, 3/12/05; Raw Story, 2/25/05; WP, 9/29/04]

DELAY LEFT HOUSE RULES BEHIND ON ASIAN VACATION: DeLay accepted an expense-paid trip to South Korea which, in direct violation of House rules, was paid for by a South Korean lobbying group. The Korea-US Exchange Council, a group registered with the Foreign Agents Registration Act, was created with help from DeLay’s former chief of staff. The cost to send DeLay, his wife and three of his lawmaker friends to Seoul for three days was $106,921, the fourth largest cost for any single trip taken by lawmakers between January 2000 and September 2004. [WP, 3/10/05]

DELAY KICKED ETHICS OUT OF HOUSE: DeLay and his allies in the House have sought to cripple the House Ethics Committee. The committee, which rebuked DeLay three times last year, was purged of its most “responsible” members last month and is currently “paralyzed” by a proposed rules change that “would prevent the committee from launching any investigation without the support of at least one Republican–a restriction designed to protect the majority leader.” [WP, 2/5/05; WP, 10/7/04; Time, 3/13/05]

DELAY TRIED TO CHANGE RULES TO PROTECT POWER: DeLay was the driving force behind the decision by House leaders to abandon an 11-year-old party rule that “required leaders to step aside temporarily if indicted.” The idea was dropped only after rank-and-file lawmakers complained “the party was sending the wrong message.” [NYT, 11/18/04; WP, 3/11/05]

------------

Good riddance!

I would love to hear the name of a Democrat who is as bad as this guy.

http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=430

[Predicto]

That's our Hammer!

[Predicto]

"For the record, I don't think Earle is a partisan"

He's definately partisan. I heard a video clip of him at a Dem fundraiser, and he said if it wasn't Delay, their would be another "Delay". He was talking about taking down republican leadership. He made these comments during the time the Delay investigation was/is going. He may very well be in hot water with the Bar before it's over, since it is against ethics for him to comment on and on going investigation. I understand it is an action that could get him disbarred, but I have no idea if that is true.

I would like to see a link to some evidence supporting this story.

[twa]

Dang Joe, If that list is true Delay must be smarter than I gave him credit for,

Or else Earle is incompetent only coming up with conspiracy after two years

[Predicto]

Dang Joe, If that list is true Delay must be smarter than I gave him credit for,

Or else Earle is incompetent only coming up with conspiracy after two years

Earle can only prosecute violations of Texas law. Most of those things are violations of House ethics rules (which is why he has been admonished three times recently for ethics violations by the Republican controlled Ethics Committee). Other things on that list are just plain sleazy, but maybe not criminal.

[twa]

I have to give the sleazebag the benefit of doubt untill Earle presents evidence to the contrary....something earle has LACKED in the past :laugh:

[Predicto]

I have to give the sleazebag the benefit of doubt untill Earle presents evidence to the contrary....something earle has LACKED in the past :laugh:

I'm sure Bill Clinton got that same benefit of the doubt from you too!

[twa]

I'm sure Bill Clinton got that same benefit of the doubt from you too!

Hey I kinda liked Bill,he used more Republican programs as his own than the Republicans. Not to mention taking on the IRS...He can't be too bad a guy.

[Hooper]

This is just the tip of the iceberg for Delay -- kind of like getting Capone on tax evasion.

[Chief skin]

Hang The Arrogant Texas Thief!!!

[Art Monk Fan]

FRIEND OF OFFICIAL TARGETED BY EARLE CALLED HIM A ‘BOY SCOUT’: “Democrats, for their part, are still upset over the prosecution of Attorney General Jim Mattox for bribery in 1985. … He was acquitted and years later, Jim Marston, a civil lawyer in Austin and friend of Mr. Mattox, asked Earle why he went ahead with the questionable case. “I said, ‘Ronnie, how can it be an abuse of power to threaten a lawyer? We threaten each other all the time.’ He told me that elected officials are held to a higher standard. They are supposed to be [above suspicion] like Caesar’s wife.’ It was then that Mr. Marston realized how deep Earle’s principles run. ‘Ronnie Earle is a Boy Scout who is offended by wrongdoings, chief among them, public officials’ abuse of power.’ [Christian Science Monitor, 12/03/04]

EARLE HAS REPUTATION AS PRINCIPLED, ‘OVERLY CAUTIOUS’: “Deliberate in the capital cases he sends to juries, Earle is well known for examining an issue from all angles before acting. ‘If I have any complaint about Ronnie, it’s that he is overly cautious about who he prosecutes,’ says Marston. ‘The fact that it has taken two years to investigate Tom DeLay is a sign not of partisanship, but of being completely careful.’” [Christian Science Monitor, 12/03/04]

These two totally contradict each other. Either he went ahead with a "questionable case" in which he failed to obtain a conviction, on principle alone, or he's overly cautious about who he prosecutes. If you're overly cautious, you simply don't waste tax payers dollars bringing a case you know you can't win to trial, just to make a political/moral point.

Here's why he acts the way he does:

EARLE HAS REPUTATION FOR ‘STRONG MORAL STREAK’: “[T]o those who know him, Earle has always exhibited a strong moral streak - from his formative years growing up in a small town outside Fort Worth, to his time on the Austin night court, to his political service in the state legislature. But they contend his morality is tempered by his compassion. ‘Ronnie is very principled and will do the right thing even if it isn’t the smartest political thing to do,’ says Ellen Halbert, a victim’s rights advocate.” [Christian Science Monitor, 12/03/04]

Earle is a maverick who follows his own sense of moral judgement regardless of the law. He's dogged DeLay, not because he's a Republican, but because he's convinced the guy must somehow be crooked. He's just another Ken Starr, he'll keep looking until he finds something, continue throwing mud until something sticks. He's a zealot.

As I said before, I don't think this attack is partisan, and I think DeLay is making a tactical error in asserting that it is. This is personal for Earle, as he is convinced DeLay is a "bad guy" and will stop at nothing to bring him down. I think DeLay plays hard ball too much, and goes too hard, too fast with no break. There's a time and a place for all things but DeLay's only got one pitch, no change up at all.

DeLay's an ass, Earle's a zealot, and too much time and money is being wasted while they have their little pissing match.

[Kilmer17]

A side note ?

Will the Democrats now adopt a similar rule that requires their leadership to step down if they are indicted?