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For Immediate Release: September 28, 2005 Contact: Josh Earnest - 202-863-8148 THE HAMMER GETS NAILED! Tom "The Hammer" DeLay is no stranger to disciplinary action by the House Ethics Committee, but he outdid himself today when a grand jury indicted him on a criminal conspiracy charge. The TX grand jury focused on transactions where corporate campaign contributions, illegal in Texas, were laundered through the RNC at the direction of Tom DeLay. DELAY CLAIMS "PARTISAN ATTACKS" - BUT DON'T FORGET THE MONEY LAUNDERING! DELAY: "This morning, in an act of blatant political partisanship, a rogue district attorney in Travis County, Texas, named Ronnie Earle charged me with one count of criminal conspiracy: a reckless charge wholly unsupported by the facts. This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history."
Ronnie Earle Has Prosecuted More Democratic Officials than Republicans.
While Earle is an elected Democrat, the Houston Chronicle commended his
work: "During his long tenure, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie
Earle has prosecuted many more Democratic officials than Republicans.
The record does not support allegations that Earle is prone to partisan
witch hunts." It is worth noting that some of the prominent 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."
Earle is Careful, Not Partisan. 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," said Jim Marston, a
civil lawyer in Austin. "The fact that it has taken two years to
investigate Tom DeLay is a sign not of partisanship, but of being
completely careful."
DELAY AND THE RNC: MONEY LAUNDERING 101
TRMPAC Laundered $190,000 of Corporate Money Through the RNC. TRMPAC
contributed $190,000 to the Republican National State Elections
Committee on September 20, 2002 that included corporate money. Within
two weeks, the RNSEC contributed the same amount back to TRMPAC targeted
candidates. Austin American-Statesman, 2/26/2004; FEC, 4/8/2004; Texas Ethics
Commission, 4/8/2004]
RNC Official Terry Nelson Named in DeLay Indictment. Weeks before the
2002 election, John Colyandro, the Austin-based executive director of
Texans for a Republican Majority, sent a blank check to his counterpart
in Washington, Jim Ellis. Ellis, who runs DeLay's Americans for a
Republican Majority, negotiated an exchange of corporate money for
campaign donations with Terry Nelson, the deputy chief of staff for the
Republican National Committee, according to the indictments. Two weeks
after the corporate check arrived in Washington, an arm of the RNC sent
the same amount in campaign donations to seven Texas legislative
candidates. Court Bill of Indictment, Thomas Dale DeLay, 9/28/05]
RNC Donated $190,000 To TRMPAC Supported Texas Candidates. The RNC's
State Election Committee then transferred $190,000 to seven TRMPAC
supported Texas House candidates. "Three weeks later, the committee sent
checks in the equivalent amount that had been raised from individual
donors to seven Republican statehouse candidates supported by TRMPAC.
Texas law prohibits the use of corporate funds in election campaigns."
SO MANY ALLEGATIONS AND ETHICS VIOLATIONS - PERHAPS DELAY FORGOT THE
ONES THAT HE WAS ADMONISHED FOR
DELAY: "As for the charges, I have the facts, the law and the truth on
my side, just as I have against every false allegation my opponents have
flung at me over the last 10 years."
But DeLay Was Admonished by the Ethics Committee Three Times, With A
Fourth Charge Pending:
ADMONISHMENT 1: DeLay Received Private Admonishment for Continuing with
Gingrich's K Street Project. In 1999, the House Ethics Committee sent a
letter to DeLay privately admonishing him for pushing the Electronics
Industry Association to hire former Rep. Bill Paxon (R-NY) as a lobbyist
instead of former Rep. Dave McCurdy (D-OK). The plan was part of DeLay's
push to load K Street power lobbying firms with Republicans, which he
re-launched in 2004, despite being admonished for it by the Ethics
Committee in 1999. Journal, 6/12/99, 5/5/01; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, editorial, 7/27/01;
Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 5/15/1999]
ADMONISHMENT 2: House Ethics Committee Admonished DeLay for Bribes for
Votes. DeLay violated House standard procedure and kept the 15-minute
House vote on Medicare open for 3 hours. Later on, the House Ethics
Committee conducted an investigation into whether DeLay threatened and
bribed representatives into voting for the Medicare law, including a
large contribution of "$100,000-plus" for the campaign of the son of a
member of Congress. 2/10/04]
ADMONISHMENT 3-A: Westar Traded Cash To DeLay in Exchange for "Seat At
The Table" During Energy Bill Negotiations. An energy company, Westar,
gave more than $56,000 in cash to DeLay for a "seat at the table" during
energy bill negotiations. As a result, language was added to a bill that
specifically benefited Westar. 10/7/04, Lawrence Memo, "Suggested Campaign Contributions", 5/17/02]
ADMONISHMENT 3-B: DeLay Abused Leadership Position and Used Influence
To Track Private Airplane. DeLay abused his leadership position and used
his influence to direct the Department of Homeland Security track a
private airplane carrying Democratic members of the Texas legislature
who were rebelling against a DeLay-led Texas redistricting plan.
ADMONISHMENT 4, PENDING: Committee Will Decide Whether to Pursue Action
Based on TRMPAC. The House Ethics Committee deferred action on another
complaint dealing with DeLay's fundraising group TRMPAC. A Texas grand
jury in September 2004 indicted three of DeLay's political associates on
charges of using TRMPAC to illegally collect corporate donations and
funnel them to Texas legislative races. The ethics committee said it
will take no action on the matter "pending further action" concerning
the indictments or the Texas-based investigation that prompted them.
FIVE TIMES IS A CHARM: In Order to Prevent DeLay from Being Admonished
Again, House Ethics Chairman Replaced By Hastert. Speaker of the House
Dennis Hastert released Joel Hefley of his duties as Chairman of the
House Ethics Committee and appointed party loyalist Doc Hastings to the
post. The House Republican Caucus approved the measure. "It was done
because Mr. Hefley's time had run out," said John Feehery, a spokesman
for Mr. Hastert.
ABRAMOFF AND TOM DELAY:
BECAUSE MONEY LAUNDERING ISN'T THE END OF THE STORY
DELAY TALKING POINTS: "The trip DeLay took to Russia in 1997 and the
United Kingdom in 2000 were proper."
DeLay Traveled to UK, Golfed at St. Andrews, Had Luxurious
Accommodations. In May 2000, DeLay traveled to England and Scotland.
According to Time Magazine, DeLay and his group had rooms at London's
Four Seasons Hotel, dinners at the best restaurants in town and
hard-to-get tickets for The Lion King. DeLay golfed at the legendary St.
Andrews Golf Course, where Abramoff has a membership. Abramoff
reportedly initially paid for several parts of DeLay's trip, a violation
of House rules. Time, 4/25/05]
Abramoff Coordinated Trip Paid For By Gambling Interests. According to
DeLay's travel disclosure forms, the National Center for Public Policy
paid for his travel to Scotland and the United Kingdom. DeLay traveled
with his wife, Abramoff, and aides Tony Rudy and Susan Hirschman.
Form, 6/30/00]
Safavian Arrested In Connection With Abramoff Probe and Similar Trip to
UK. The Bush administration's chief contracting and procurement official
at OMB David Safavian was arrested in September of 2005. Safavian was
being held on charges of making false statements to an ethics official,
making false statements to the General Services Agency's Inspector
General, and obstruction of a GSA-IG investigation. 9/20/05; DOJ Release, 9/19/05]
DeLay Took Russia Trip With Abramoff, Reports that NCPP Paid for Trip.
DeLay traveled to Russia with Jack Abramoff in 1997. On his travel
disclosure forms, DeLay listed the National Center for Public Policy
Research as the trip sponsor. DeLay attended the trip with four of his
staff members, and expenses totaled $57,238. Others attending the trip
were Amy Ridenour, the director of NCPP, and her husband, lobbyist
Julius Kaplan and James P. Lucier, former staff director of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee.
But Foreign Firm Paid for Trip. According to the Washington Post, the
Bahamian registered Chelsea Commercial Enterprise Limited funded the
DeLay trip to Russia. Chelsea had paid $180,000 to Kaplan's lobbying
firm and $260,000 to Abramoff's lobbying firm. According to the Post,
Abramoff approached NCPP about sponsoring the trip and the expenses by
the center were reimbursed by, "an American trust account affiliated
with a law firm."
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any
candidate or candidate's committee. |
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