Judge Supports Charges Vs. DeLay Colleagues
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
(08-10) 14:10 PDT Austin, Texas (AP) --
A state district judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss charges of money laundering and accepting illegal political contributions against two associates of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
Judge Bob Perkins denied arguments from attorneys for John Colyandro and Jim Ellis that the charges were based on an unconstitutionally vague law and that the indictments were improperly worded.
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The charges stem from the 2002 Texas legislative elections. Colyandro worked for DeLay's fundraising committee Texans for a Republican Majority, and Ellis worked for Americans for a Republican Majority.
The money laundering charges are based on $190,000 in corporate money that was sent to the Republican National State Elections Committee. That committee then gave the same amount of money in donations to seven Texas House candidates.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/08/09/national/w175539D30.DTL