DeLay aide pleads guilty

[sonias]

News Flash from the Public Campaign Action Fund:

The Associated Press is reporting that Tony Rudy, a former aide to Tom DeLay will plead guilty to one count in connection with the ongoing federal investigation of Jack Abramoff's scandal-ridden activities. This is big.

Read more about this breaking story on our blog and let us know what you think.

Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief-of-staff, is entering his plea just two days after Abramoff received a 70-month prison sentence for fraud in connection with his casino-boat activities in Miami. Michael Hedges, of the Houston Chronicle, reports, "What Rudy has told prosecutors about DeLay - or has promised to tell them - could prove pivotal in whether the lawmaker is cleared or gets pulled more directly into the federal investigation."

Here's our preliminary analysis: Tony Rudy joins Michael Scanlon, another DeLay aide, in pleading guilty. These men, with Abramoff, are the key to taking down Ed Buckham, a former DeLay chief of staff, who ran a lobbying firm that employed DeLay's wife, and is a close confidante of DeLay's. Buckham and his wife, the Washington Post reported Sunday, reaped a million dollars in commissions and contracts from Abramoff's fundraising.

The dominos are falling. Stay up on this story as it develops at "Paid for By...," the Public Campaign Action Fund blog.

Thanks for all you do,
David Donnelly
National Campaigns Director

P.S. Every day brings further proof this work needs to be done - support Public Campaign Action Fund today.

[sonias]

1. Ney and DeLay are in the cross-hairs

TPM Muckraker Blog
More on Rudy's Guilty Plea
By Paul Kiel - March 31, 2006, 12:05 PM

Tony Rudy pled to a single charge of Conspiracy. Rudy faces a sentencing range of two years to two years, 6 months and $100,000 in restitution.

Two Members of Congress are identified in the plea: Representative #1 is Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) and Representative #2 is former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). Keep in mind that this doesn't mean that this is all Rudy has to give. Guilty pleas are not exhaustive.

Three main observations:

1) I'm not sure there are room for any more nails in Bob Ney's coffin, but if there were, Tony Rudy's plea squeezes them in there.

2) The plea does mention DeLay, but it seems like he's not going to serve up DeLay to prosecutors on a silver platter.

3) The plea doesn't mention Ed Buckham at all.

Sonia

[sonias]

2. Yahoo story link

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060331/ap_on_go_co/lobbyist_fraud_rudy;_ylt=AuWc42pN4plOd2k0KKDelouyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--">Yahoo story link
Former DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty
Tony Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff, admitted conspiring with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff — both while Rudy worked for DeLay and after he left the lawmaker's staff to become a lobbyist himself.

He is the second former DeLay staffer to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the lobbying probe. The plea agreement makes no allegation that the Texas lawmaker did anything wrong.

Rudy faces up to five years in prison, but could receive much less based on the extent of his help with the investigation.

Court papers for the first time also referred to a third former DeLay aide, Ed Buckham. Buckham, a onetime DeLay chief of staff, is described only as Lobbyist B, but is easily identifiable because the documents say Rudy worked with him after a brief stint at Abramoff's lobbying firm.

They all fall down.


Sonia

[muse]

3. All good news

I don't even need to know the details. I just like hearing this type of good news every day.

[johncoby2]

4. How much does it have to stink for people to wake up?

[sonias]

5. Most of us woke up a long time ago

Now we have to wake up all the zombies who follow repukes blindly. Maybe if we rub their noses in DeLay's stink?

Sonia

[muse]

7. many of us were never asleep!! nt

[muse]

6. block walk tomorrow

and then report back! :)

Maybe you'll hear some people are waking up.

Seriously, it's sort of scary around here. My neighbors are pretty much like sheep. They just blindly vote for DeLay. I am hoping to find out it is different this year.

[muse]

8. Details are interesting after all

I read the Washington Post article. Very intersting stuff. I recommend it.

It keeps refering to Rudy's activities out of DeLay's office back in 2000. I happened to be in DC back in 2000 when DeLay was the Majority Whip. My kids and I literally stumbled upon his office in the Capitol and I blurted out, "that's our congressman's office." I was about to launch into an explanation to my children there out in the hallway about how evil he was when the door opened and a staffer heard me say that about how DeLay was my congressman. She said, "oh, you are from Sugar Land!!" This was before redistricting, folks, when basically, yeah, his constituents were mostly from Sugar Land. So, she ushered us in the office as if we were some of the chosen ones and there we were in the inner sanctum for the grand tour.

THERE WERE WHIPS EVERYWHERE.

Whips. All over the place. Especially in DeLay's office all over the walls.

My kids were completely freaked. They were like ages 9 and 6 at the time.

What an awful, awful experience. I did NOT want to be there.

And just think, all that illegal activity going on! With whips!

[sonias]

9. Whips?

You mean this kind:
"An instrument, either a flexible rod or a flexible thong or lash attached to a handle, used for driving animals or administering corporal punishment."

That is freaky. I certainly understand how your kids felt. Man that creep is a psycho keeping those all over his office. What kind of message does that send to the children. This is a Congressional office.

Brings new meaning to the phrase House Whips which of course are an entirely different thing.
Majority and Minority Whip: Assists the leader, rounds up votes, heads large group of deputy and assistant whips.

Sonia

[muse]

10. yes! those kinds of whips!!!

Picture going into an executive office with whips hung all over the walls. Everywhere.

I took my kids out into the hallway - into the hallowed halls of Congress - and I swear I vowed to them that I we were going to have to do something about this and when 2004 rolled around and Richard Morrison had a chance I GOT BUSY.

And, I am very, very busy right now and they understand. All I have to say is "Nick Lampson" and they wave me out the door.