Charges grow for Bush ally DeLay

October 05, 2005
AUSTIN: A Texas grand jury has indicted powerful US congressman and Bush ally Tom DeLay on two new felony charges.

The new charges include money laundering and are more serious than the conspiracy indictment last week, which forced Mr DeLay to step aside as the second-ranking Republican in the US House of Representatives. Mr DeLay is in trouble over a campaign finance scheme for the 2002 Texas election.

The new charges have raised the stakes dramatically, as Mr DeLay could face life in prison if convicted.

The Travis County grand jury in Austin handed up the new indictment just hours after Mr DeLay's lawyers sought to dismiss last week's charge, which carried a maximum sentence of two years' jail, on a technicality.

The new indictment, from Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, outraged Mr DeLay. "Ronnie Earle has stooped to a new low with his brand of prosecutorial abuse," he said in a statement.

"He is trying to pull the legal equivalent of a 'do-over' since he knows very well that the charges he brought against me last week are totally manufactured and illegitimate. This is an abomination of justice."

One count of the indictment accuses Mr DeLay of conspiring with associates John Colyandro and Jim Ellis to launder $US190,000 ($250,000) in corporate contributions to his Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (TRMPAC) through the Republican National Committee for distribution to candidates for the Texas legislature in 2002.

Texas law forbids the use of corporate money in political campaigns.

The committee's efforts helped Republicans take control of the Texas legislature for the first time since soon after the Civil War, and led to a controversial remapping of congressional districts that increased the number of Texas Republicans in the US House of Representatives.

The other count alleges Mr DeLay and his associates "did knowingly conduct, supervise, and facilitate" the transfer of the $US190,000 to Washington and back to Texas. This would be a breach of Texas's money-laundering laws, whereas the conspiracy charge was brought under the state's election laws.

The Austin American-Statesman newspaper said prosecutors sought the new charges for fear the original one would be thrown out. Mr DeLay's lawyers argued that the crime of conspiracy was not covered by the election laws at the time.

Mr DeLay, who represents a Houston district, had been House majority leader from 2002 until last week's indictment. Because of House Republican rules he quit the leadership post, where he had played a key role in passing Bush's agenda, including tax cuts. He was able to keep his congressional seat.

Apart from the TRMPAC investigation, Mr DeLay has been under fire in the past year for ethics problems involving fundraising, foreign travels and his dealings with lobbyists.

Yesterday's indictments were the latest in a series to come out of the TRMPAC investigation.

Mr Colyandro, Mr Ellis and Warren Robold were indicted last year and are awaiting trial. They have been charged with accepting $US600,000 in illegal corporate contributions.

TRMPAC and lobby group Texas Association of Business were indicted on charges of illegally funnelling corporate donations into the Texas campaigns. Eight corporations also were indicted for their part in the finance schemes.

Reuters


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