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Ex-House Leader DeLay Found Guilty in Texas Case
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: November 24, 2010

AUSTIN - A Texas jury Wednesday found Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader and Texas political powerhouse, guilty in a money-laundering trial involving contributions to political campaigns.

Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before they came back with guilty verdicts against Mr. DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The verdict was the latest chapter in a long legal battle that forced Mr. DeLay to step down. The trial also opened a window on the world of campaign financing in Washington, as jurors heard testimony about large contributions flowing to Mr. DeLay from corporations seeking to influence him and junkets to posh resorts where the congressman would rub shoulders with lobbyists in return for donations.

Mr. DeLay faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge.

During the three-week trial, the prosecution presented more than 30 witnesses in an effort to prove Mr. DeLay conspired with two associates in 2002 to circumvent a state law against corporate contributions to political campaigns. Since 1903, Texas law has prohibited corporations from giving to candidates directly or indirectly.

Mr. Delay was initially charged with breaking campaign finance law, but prosecutors later switched strategies because it was impossible under the law at the time to accuse someone of conspiring to break campaign finance rules.

Instead, prosecutors used a novel legal theory never before tried in Texas: they argued Mr. DeLay and two of political operatives — John Colyandro and Jim Ellis — had violated the criminal money-laundering law. They were charged with conspiring to funnel $190,000 in corporate donations to state candidates through the Republican National Committee.

The main facts of the case were never in dispute. In mid-September 2002, as the election heated up, Mr. DeLay’s state political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, gave a check for $190,000 to the Republican National Committee. The money had been donated earlier in the year by various corporate lobbyists seeking to influence Mr. DeLay, several witnesses said.

On Sept. 13, the check was delivered to the R.N.C. by Mr. Ellis, who was Mr. Delay’s top political operative in Washington and headed his Federal political action committee. At the same meeting, Mr. Ellis also gave the Republican director of political operations, Terry Nelson, a list of state candidates and an amount to be sent to each. Mr. Nelson testified that Mr. Ellis had told him the request had come from Mr. DeLay.

dbackjon wrote:JAIL

dbackjon wrote:JAIL

GrizFanStuckInUtah wrote:

dbackjon wrote:JAIL

Send all of Congress with him while you are at it.

Chizzang wrote:What a heartbreaking outcome...
Imagine behaving like a common criminal and being indicted for it - what has this world come to

houndawg wrote:

Chizzang wrote:What a heartbreaking outcome...
Imagine behaving like a common criminal and being indicted for it - what has this world come to

No worries, ol' Tommy D can afford justice. He won't serve a day.

Skjellyfetti wrote:Are you really comparing Rangel to DeLay? Really?

Bill Richardson, New Mexico Democratic Governor, nominated for Commerce Department Secretary. He withdrew on January 4 after it emerged that he was the subject of a Grand Jury investigation for influence peddling, due to his awarding of a $1.5 million state contract to political contributors.

Tom Daschle, Former South Dakota Democratic Senator, nominated for Health and Human Services Secretary. He withdrew on February 3, admitting that he had failed to pay more than $100,000 in taxes on a car and driver provided by a friend and on consulting fees after he left the Senate.

Nancy Killefer, former Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer of the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration, nominated for Deputy Director at the Office of Management and Budget and Chief Performance Officer. Killefer withdrew on February 3 because of a lien against her home for failure to pay unemployment tax for household help.

Hilda Solis, nominated for Labor Secretary, was confirmed on February 11 even though her husband had liens against his business going back 16 years. He paid $6,400 owed a day before her confirmation hearing.

Timothy Geithner, nominated and confirmed on February 24 for Treasury Secretary. Geithner failed to pay $34,000 in self-employment taxes while he worked at the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2004. Yet he was still confirmed because Democrats said his position was too important to be left unfilled any longer.

Former Obama campaign worker Susan Tierney, the leading candidate for Deputy Secretary of Energy, dropped out on March 3 without citing a reason. Is she afraid to cite back taxes?

Jane Garvey, reportedly Obama's top choice for Deputy Secretary of Transportation, also dropped out on March 3, reportedly for financial reasons.

Former Washington Democratic Governor Gary Locke. Nominated on March 5, for Secretary of Commerce after Bill Richardson and Judd Gregg withdrew. So far he appears to be sailing through to confirmation, but Frontpage Mag points out he was involved in Chinagate with former Clinton
Commerce employee John Huang. Huang wrote a $1,000 check to Locke and co-sponsored fundraising.

Annette Nazareth, who was to be nominated for Treasury Deputy Secretary, abruptly announced on March 5 she was stepping aside for "personal reasons."

Caroline Atkinson, nominated for Undersecretary of International Affairs, abruptly withdrew on March 5 as well.

Andrew Jackson wrote:In my day we would have tarred and feathered these miscreants.