DeLay Steps Aside as Majority Leader after Indictment

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) announced Wednesday that he would temporarily step aside while fighting the conspiracy indictment against him that a Texas grand jury had handed down earlier in the day. Under Republican Caucus rules, he had to do so, although the House GOP was only shamed into reinstating this requirement after dropping it in November to protect Mr. DeLay. The single charge of conspiracy is, on the surface, a pretty weak accusation, but Al Capone only did time for tax evasion.

Mr. DeLay is accused of conspiring with John Colyandro, former executive director of a Texas political action committee formed by Mr. DeLay, and Jim Ellis, who heads Congressman DeLay’s national political committee, of plotting to violate Texas election law. Specifically, the men allegedly arranged for corporate campaign donations to be funneled to Texas Republican candidates through the Republican National Committee. It may not meet the technical definition of laundering, but it was clearly an attempt (if it occurred) to put corporate money into campaigns, which is a violation of Texan law.

Congressman DeLay, known as “The Hammer” for his unsubtle approach to political arm-twisting, came out fighting. "My defense in this case will not be technical or legalistic. It will be categorical and absolute." He said further, "I am innocent. Mr. Earle [Ronnie Earle is the DA who won the grand jury indictment] and his staff know it, and I will prove it.” The presumption of innocence is a sacred tenet of justice, and until a jury says otherwise, this journal will not dispute Mr. DeLay’s statement.

However, Mr. DeLay in his combative outburst slandered Mr. Earle by calling him a “partisan fanatic.” A truly partisan fanatic would not take on Democrats as well as Republicans. Mr. Earle’s record includes a prosecution (albeit unsuccessful) of Democratic Attorney General Jim Mattox in 1985, and another against Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis, a Democrat, who pleaded no contest to ethics charges in 1992. According to The Economist, a British publication with no partisan interest here, Mr. Earle has prosecuted four times as many Democrats as Republicans.

Moreover, Mr. Earle is currently serving his sixth four-year term as the duly elected DA for Travis County. His website says “He received the Texas Bar Foundation Award for Advancing Legal Ethics in Texas and his office has been selected by the National District Attorneys Association as one of ten model offices in the country.”

While the legal aspects have to be played out in court, the indictment gives the Democrats their issue for the 2006 elections – “the GOP is crooked.” Mr. DeLay appears to hold the record for most admonishments from the bipartisan House Ethics Committee. Add to this, Michael Brown’s poor performance at FEMA during Hurricane Katrina and allegations that he got the job through connections. Throw in Office of Management and Budget's former procurement chief David Safavian’s three count criminal complaint. Remind everyone of Senator Frist’s problem with possible insider trading. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has already labeled it a “culture of corruption.” That’s the 2006 race in a nutshell.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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