Tom Delay Indicted!

[Sonic Youth]

BREAKING NEWS...

Chris Matthews has reported on MSNBC that Tom DeLay will announce tomorrow that he is withdrawing from his race for re election to congress.

[Sonic Youth]

Nobody in Plamegate got indicted today, but at least Tom got booked.

Here's his mug shot.

LOL, what a clown!

[Penelope]

Grand Jury Indicts DeLay on New Charge By APRIL CASTRO, Associated Press Writer
52 minutes ago



A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering Monday, less than a week after another grand jury leveled a conspiracy charge that forced DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader.

Both indictments accuse DeLay and two political associates of conspiring to get around a state ban on corporate campaign contributions by funneling the money through a political action committee to the Republican National Committee in Washington.

The RNC then sent back like amounts to distribute to Texas candidates in 2002, the indictment alleges.

The new indictment came hours after DeLay's attorneys filed a request to dismiss the case. That request argued that the conspiracy charge was based on a law that was not effective until 2003, the year after the alleged money transfers.

The judge who will preside in DeLay's case was out of the country on vacation and could not rule on the request. Other state district judges declined to rule on the request in his place, said Colleen Davis, a law clerk to Austin attorney Bill White, also represents DeLay.

[OscarGuy]

You know what's even more embarrassing. I voted against Roy Blunt because he's the 7th district representative for Missouri, which happens to be my district.

[Sonic Youth]

A little something about DeLay's successor, Roy Blunt:

"As he worked to unite the party and turn its attention back to the legislative agenda, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, DeLay's successor as majority leader, faced ethics questions himself.

"Records on file with the Federal Election Commission show that since 2003, Blunt's political action committee has paid $94,000 in salary to the consulting firm of Jim Ellis, a longtime associate of DeLay. Ellis has been indicted in the same case as DeLay, for allegedly conspiring to illegally influence the outcome of Texas legislative elections by channeling corporate money to Republican candidates.

"Congressional watchdog groups and Democrats pointed to Blunt's employment of Ellis' firm, J.W. Ellis Co., as evidence of what they said is an atmosphere of corruption on Capitol Hill."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin....J11.DTL

What the HELL are these Republicans thinking?


That said, I've made a complete turnaround after watching how ferociously DeLay's supporters pililng on to his defense on the TV scream-shows these past few nights. He's going to get away with this. The GOP and their media comrades-in-arms are going to save him through relentless intimidation, a la the Broward County Courthouse.

[Sonic Youth]

Newsview: DeLay Mess Adds to GOP Troubles

Wednesday September 28, 2005 11:01 PM
By RON FOURNIER
AP Political Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Drip, drip, drip. The criminal conspiracy indictment against Tom DeLay adds to the political water torture of Republicans, the party in power that stands to lose if the public's mood continues to sour.

Voters are turning against the Iraq war, fretting about the economy and losing faith in their political leaders.

Less than a year ago, President Bush won re-election and the GOP picked up seats in the House and the Senate, raising hopes in conservative circles that Republicans could control Congress and the White House for a generation or more.

Suddenly, they're worried about clinging to power beyond the 2006 and 2008 elections.

``We can still stabilize the situation and make it right, but there's no question that this is a rough patch,'' said Republican consultant Joe Gaylord, an adviser to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

A confluence of events - the spate of GOP scandals, the rising death toll in Iraq, the lethally slow response to Hurricane Katrina and a steep decline in consumer confidence with the economy - has shifted the political landscape.

Bush, who rose to power in 2000 on a pledge to restore integrity to the Oval Office, now presides over a party rocked by controversy.

DeLay and two of his political associates are charged with laundering campaign money through the Republican National Committee in violation of Texas law. While not charged, longtime Bush adviser Terry Nelson is named in the indictment as the RNC official through whom the money flowed.

Senate Majority Leader Bill First, R-Tenn., faces federal investigations into his stock sales.

A former White House official was arrested last week in the investigation of Jack Abramoff, a high-powered lobbyist and fundraiser.

In a direct threat to the White House, a federal prosecutor is investigating the disclosure of a CIA agent's identify. Two years ago, the White House denied that Bush confidant Karl Rove played any role, but revelations in recent months have shown that the deputy chief of staff spoke with two journalists about the operative. Whether Bush knew the truth while the White House was issuing its denials is not publicly known.

It is also unclear whether Democrats can overcome their own problems - the lack of a single, strong leader or unified message. Party leaders managed to speak with one voice Wednesday, accusing Bush of fostering a ``culture of corruption.''

The GOP's change of fortunes came at a bad time: Both parties are busy recruiting candidates for the 2006 elections. A senior GOP official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several potential candidates are expressing jitters.

Bush's reputation has taken hit after hit.

His government's response to Katrina led to the ouster of disaster chief Michael Brown, condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike as an underqualified, out-of-touch political hack whose hiring suggests a wider practice of cronyism inside the Bush administration.

A year after many voters set aside concerns about Bush's policies out of respect for his leadership skills, polls suggest that most voters now question whether the president can handle himself in a crisis.

Many Republican strategists believe Katrina crystalized voters' simmering concerns about the state of the nation, elevating issues of class and race, the national debt, the effectiveness of government and even the war in Iraq.

Four in 10 voters want to cut spending in Iraq to pay for Katrina recovery, according to an AP-Ipsos poll last week. Two-thirds of voters say the president is spending too much in Iraq. Just as many were concerned the money was not being spent wisely.

Mark McKinnon, who coordinated Bush's campaign advertising, said voters won't hold Iraq or the ethical scandals against the party. ``The public will see that partisan axes are being ground,'' he said.

For some Republicans, the worst news of the week was that consumer confidence had suffered its biggest drop in 15 years, a sign that Katrina and rising fuel costs were wearing on Americans.

But polls show voters are disenchanted with both parties, their faith in government is low and they want bold, bipartisan action to resolve the nation's problems.

DeLay is just another politician in trouble, just like Katrina was just another example of government incompetence at all levels.

The public is restless. That could be bad news for both parties.

``If this doesn't get any better, if people don't see a dime's bit of difference between corrupt Republicans and the same tired old Democrats,'' Gaylord said, ``there could be a third party movement coming on.''

[Sonic Youth]

I hope so, Mister Tee, but they won't give up so easily.

This would be a perfect time for another "terrorist" attack and the ensuing martial law.

[Mister Tee]

Ronnie Earle has indicted more Democrats than Republicans, so this "partisan prosecutor" thing is a tough sell for all but the happily gullible. And, of course, it has no effect in the trial itself, which will be decided on evidence.

Yes, Sonic, DeLay's damage has been extensive -- but there are movements now afoot to nationally supervise re-districting in a non-partisan way, which could change the face of the House of Representatives more than 20 elections under the current rules. So, the abuse may have finally led to correcting a long-festering, bipartisan scandal of pandering to incumbents.

And I think the combination of this indictment, Frist's dubious stock dump, and the still-hovering Rove indictment raise the prospect of a corruption trifecta, covering the entire executive and legislative leadership. Add that to problems over gas prices (and resultant plunging consumer confidence), the whole Katrina fiasco, and Iraq violence spiking yet again (it must be close to 30 US fatalities since a week ago Monday)...we could be seeing an administration losing the public in a way previously occasioned only by Watergate and the Great Depression.

[Sonic Youth]

Here's a statement from DeLay's spokesman, who should be called The Hammer himself. It's just hysterical, two ways!

Let's count how many times he says Tom DeLay and how many times he counts Ronnie Earle, shall we?


"These charges have no basis in the facts or the law. This is just another example of Ronnie Earle misusing his office for partisan vendettas. Despite the clearly political agenda of this prosecutor, Congressman DeLay has cooperated with officials throughout the entire process. Even in the last two weeks, Ronnie Earle himself had acknowledged publicly that Mr. DeLay was not a target of his investigation. However, as with many of Ronnie Earle's previous partisan investigations, Ronnie Earle refused to let the facts or the law get in the way of his partisan desire to indict a political foe.

"This purely political investigation has been marked by illegal grand jury leaks,[You mean, like with the Clinton-Lewinsky grand jury?!] a fundraising 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. [I doubt that very much. I'd imagine people from the corporations testified in exchange for immunity from indictments]Ronnie Earle's previous misuse of his office has resulted in failed prosecutions and we trust his partisan grandstanding will strike out again, as it should.

"Ronnie Earle's 1994 indictment against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was quickly dismissed and his charges in the 1980s against former Attorney General Jim Mattox-another political foe of Earle-fell apart at trial.

"We regret the people of Texas will once again have their taxpayer dollars wasted on Ronnie Earle's pursuit of headlines and political paybacks. Ronnie Earle began this investigation in 2002, after the Democrat Party lost the Texas state legislature to Republicans. For three years and through numerous grand juries, Ronnie Earle has tried to manufacture charges against Republicans involved in winning those elections using arcane statutes never before utilized in a case in the state. This indictment is nothing more than prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat."


DeLay=2
Earle=12

Holy mofo, but do they ever clink when he walks! When you have no defence, just switch to attack mode. Whatever happened to "Mr. DeLay looks forward to proving his innocence in court"?


"Ronnie Earle has tried to manufacture charges against Republicans involved in winning those elections using arcane statutes never before utilized in a case in the state."

Could someone explain to me what an "arcade statute" is? Isn't that... A LAW???

[Sonic Youth]

Yeah, well, anybody who has been following this story is greeting it with a big yawn. Who didn't see this coming?

There is no doubt in my mind the guy is going to end up in jail. But it doesn't really matter, because the damage this man has done can never be undone. What is it going to change? Nothing. He redrew the districts to get more Republicans elected into the House when it wasn't at the 10 year mark when that traditionally gets done. I know that's not illegal, but it's certainly unprecedented in the state's entire history. And he threatened to have Democrats arrested if they didn't go to work to vote on the measure, and he hired Homeland Security helicoptors to search for them - on our tax dollars. Basically, he's a Hitler. But none of it matters. Those districts are in place and they ain't changing. The evil that men do lives on and on.

And he's only stepping down from his leadership.

You wouldn't think his nickname - The Hammer - was something of a hint?

[kaytodd]

This has been predicted for a while. It may not result in any significant consequences for Delay, but he does not need anymore bad publicity or embarrasment. This will certainly hurt his ability to use his Congressional office for his own gain. He should know a lucrative career as a lobbyist or "consultant" is awating him anytime he wants.


Sep 28, 1:11 PM EDT

DeLay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe

By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Texas grand jury on Wednesday charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, forcing the House majority leader to temporarily relinquish his post.

DeLay attorney Steve Brittain said DeLay was accused of a criminal conspiracy along with two associates, John Colyandro, former executive director of a Texas political action committee formed by DeLay, and Jim Ellis, who heads DeLay's national political committee.

"I have notified the speaker 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.

GOP congressional officials said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., will recommend that Rep. David Dreier of California step into those duties. Some of the duties may go to the GOP whip, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri. The Republican rank and file may meet as early as Wednesday night to act on Hastert's recommendation.

The charge carries a potential two-year sentence, which forces DeLay to step down under House Republican rules.

"The defendants enetered into an agreement with each other or with TRMPAC (Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee) to make a political contribution in violation of the Texas election code," says the four-page indictment. "The contribution was made directly to the Republican National Committee within 60 days of a general election."

The indictment against the second-ranking, and most assertive Republican leader came on the final day of the grand jury's term. It followed earlier indictments of a state political action committee founded by DeLay and three of his political associates.

The grand jury action is expected to have immediate consequences in the House, where DeLay is largely responsible for winning passage of the Republican legislative program. House Republican Party rules require leaders who are indicted to temporarily step aside from their leadership posts.

However, DeLay retains his seat representing Texas' 22nd congressional district, suburbs southwest of Houston.

DeLay has denied committing any crime and accused the Democratic district attorney leading the investigation, Ronnie Earle, of pursuing the case for political motives.

Democrats have kept up a crescendo of criticism of DeLay's ethics, citing three times last year that the House ethics committee admonished DeLay for his conduct.

Earlier, DeLay attorney Bill White told reporters, "It's a skunky indictment if they have one."

As a sign of loyalty to DeLay after the grand jury returned indictments against three of his associates, House Republicans last November repealed a rule requiring any of their leaders to step aside if indicted. The rule was reinstituted in January after lawmakers returned to Washington from the holidays fearing the repeal might create a backlash from voters.

DeLay, 58, also is the center of an ethics swirl in Washington. The 11-term congressman was admonished last year by the House ethics committee on three separate issues and is the center of a political storm this year over lobbyists paying his and other lawmakers' tabs for expensive travel abroad.

Wednesday's indictment stems from a plan DeLay helped set in motion in 2001 to help Republicans win control of the Texas House in the 2002 elections for the first time since Reconstruction.

A state political action committee he created, Texans for a Republican Majority, was indicted earlier this month on charges of accepting corporate contributions for use in state legislative races. Texas law prohibits corporate money from being used to advocate the election or defeat of candidates; it is allowed only for administrative expenses.

With GOP control of the Texas legislature, DeLay then engineered a redistricting plan that enabled the GOP take six Texas seats in the U.S. House away from Democrats - including one lawmaker switching parties - in 2004 and build its majority in Congress.

© 2005 The Associated Press.