DeLay Calls Guilty Verdict ‘Miscarriage of Justice’
- Posted on November 24, 2010 at 8:03pm by
Scott Baker
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay — once one of the most powerful and feared Republicans in Congress — was convicted Wednesday on charges he illegally funneled corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.
Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before returning guilty verdicts against DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge.
After the verdicts were read, DeLay hugged his daughter, Danielle, and his wife, Christine. There was no immediate comment from him or his attorneys.
Prosecutors said DeLay, who once held the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives and whose heavy-handed style earned him the nickname “the Hammer,” used his political action committee to illegally channel $190,000 in corporate donations into 2002 Texas legislative races through a money swap.
DeLay and his attorneys maintained the former Houston-area congressman did nothing wrong as no corporate funds went to Texas candidates and the money swap was legal.
The verdict came after a three-week trial in which prosecutors presented more than 30 witnesses and volumes of e-mails and other documents. DeLay’s attorneys presented five witnesses.
Prosecutors said DeLay conspired with two associates, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, to use his Texas-based PAC to send $190,000 in corporate money to an arm of the Washington-based Republican National Committee, or RNC. The RNC then sent the same amount to seven Texas House candidates. Under Texas law, corporate money can’t go directly to political campaigns.
Prosecutors claim the money helped Republicans take control of the Texas House. That enabled the GOP majority to push through a Delay-engineered congressional redistricting plan that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004 — and strengthened DeLay’s political power.
DeLay’s attorneys argued the money swap resulted in the seven candidates getting donations from individuals, which they could legally use in Texas.
They also said DeLay only lent his name to the PAC and had little involvement in how it was run. Prosecutors, who presented mostly circumstantial evidence, didn’t prove he committed a crime, they said.
DeLay has chosen to have Senior Judge Pat Priest sentence him. He faces five years to life in prison on the money laundering charge and two to 20 years on the conspiracy charge. He also would be eligible for probation.
The 2005 criminal charges in Texas, as well as a separate federal investigation of DeLay’s ties to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, ended his 22-year political career representing suburban Houston. The Justice Department probe into DeLay’s ties to Abramoff ended without any charges filed against DeLay.
Ellis and Colyandro, who face lesser charges, will be tried later.
Except for a 2009 appearance on ABC’s hit television show “Dancing With the Stars,” DeLay has been out of the spotlight since resigning from Congress in 2006. He now runs a consulting firm based in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land.
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Comments (63)
shellmen
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 9:35amThis DeLay and Rangle thing should teach us ONE THING we have the wrong GROUP of crooks [on both sides ] doing our business in DC. Lets oust ALL of them and get it over and then hold the people we send up there to represent us to the fire of listening to us and NO special interest.
Report Post »NHABE64
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 6:00amAnother Washington thief and scoundrel bites the dust. Its a real pleasure to see justice served, enjoy your new hotel suite in prison you who has betrayed Amerrica. I have no pity at all for such scum and I hope his life is miserable behind bars, damn traitor.
Report Post »Aeric98
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 4:52amGood. I’m glad that Delay is going to prison. True, Republicans do get the short end but it makes us stronger. People like Delay needs to be made an example. All the Rhinos need to go home or become Democrats.
Report Post »justice
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 3:47amHe did the crime, he should do some time. Rangall should have got the same, I see no difference between the two. Walters if found quilty should be thrown out also, why are these last two protected from being boosted from their job with no pay..
Report Post »alshere
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 2:48amI am a republican and I feel that justice has been served. Tom Delay was too expensive for this country. The old guard is on its way out.
Report Post »Bill
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 2:36amIt’s the heights of hippocracy for Democrats to claim Republicans gerrymandered Texas. In the first election after the Democrats last set the districts in Texas after the 1990 census, I was voting in Houston. The Democratic primary for the House of Representatives had Gene Green (the current Representative) against Ben Reyes ( a local politician in Houston who was widely known to be a crook and a few years later was convicted and sent to prison for taking bribes). The Democrats in Austin wanted this East Houston district to be a “hispanic” district and backed Reyes. The Republican in the race had no chance to win so i voted in the Democratic primary for Gene Green because I didn’t want to send a corrupt politician to Washington.
There were several other candidates in the primary and no one had over 50% of the vote. Green was close to 50% with about 10% more than Reyes so they had a runoff. In the two weeks between the primary and the primary runoff the Democrats then in control of the Texas Legislature redrew the district lines to include more Hispanic voters in the district. I was no longer in the district and could not vote in the runoff. The new district lines jumped around based on surnames.
When I was told I was not in the district where I’d voted 2 weeks earlier, I called the Democratic Party Headquarters to try and find out what happened. I was actually told that the Democrats didn’t need my vote. They will never have it again.
Green won anyway because the Hispanic community of Houston back then knew Reyes was a crook.
Report Post »Bill
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 2:20amDelay was convicted of a crime that was not illegal at the time he did it. The way he transferred money from the a pac to candidates in Texas has since been made illegal. The prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, is well known for lying to grand juries to get indictments and for using his office to persecute political foes. The venue is also hostile to any Republican. Tom Delay was never going to get a fair trial in Austin. Ronnie Earle is the one who should be sent to prison.
Report Post »TheCreecher
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 1:41amwell they said they’d get him no matter what it took. looks like they made good on the threat
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 12:30amTexas has been gerrymandered to death by “organizers” for decades. It’s courts are infested with activist judges. Gee- i wonder how THAT happened.
Report Post »kindling
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 6:12amI hear about Ghandi and it is not that I was unhappy he freed them from British rule, but he abused his family and to me that is the measure of a man. So I cringe when I hear him used as an example.
Report Post »missionarydad
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:54pm“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive” Sir Walter Scott. The jury has spoken and I have always liked the man, but sometimes justice does get its pound of flesh, are you listening Charlie? Maxine? What about you Congressman William Jefferson? and can’t leave out old Barney Boy?
Report Post »beekeeper
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 8:36amAs I recall, the basic defense was that DeLay was accused (and now convicted) of a crime that wasn’t on the books when he is accused of committing it.
Report Post »metalurgy
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:32pmToo many laws. Everyone posting here on this News Blog can be found guilty of a felony if the Government tried hard enough. All law is moral, good or bad, and all law removes some freedom, good aor bad.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:27pmI wonder if an appeal to a higher court is possible. Something isn’t right here. It also isn’t right that the punishment is not equal for all. No one should get a slap on the wrist when another is facing life in prison for the rest of his life for basically the same crime.
Report Post »tradexpertbuysell
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:26pmThose that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Ben Franklin
If this works for Delay how about Pelosi, Reed, and Obama. Seems even if Tom was rightfully convicted and we threw in child molesting to boot I would think then based on all the similar circumstantial evidence and direct quotes and video sound bites that this trio could be tried for treason and likewise receive the full penalty of the law. They are blowing up economies and imposing a severe security risk on this country with their reckless spending that makes Delay look like a saint.
My understanding is that the attack dogs are now after DeMint. Their hatred is undisguised and in our face!
Report Post »kindling
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 6:10amIsn’t the punishment for treason a fireing squad? OK…. that works for me.
Report Post »Sinista Mace
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:02pmThis took forever.
I guess his name is Delay for a reason.
Report Post »Hefsmaster
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:43pmDie and get it over with already.
Report Post »Angel D
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:39pmLadyLirpa
Report Post »Bush did not commit any War Crime! How would you have liked to been in one of those Towers on 9/11. No other terrorist acts were succsessful in his 8 years. I’d use a little water myself if anyone evan tries to hurt my Family! We have an Obum in the WH!
Hefsmaster
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:12pmStop idolizing and putting these people on a pedestal. You have failed to learn the most basic premise. ALL POLITICIANS LIE. If there was a blanket statement that holds truth in this world. That is it.
Report Post »Flagman
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:35pmWhat about Charlie?
Report Post »Supreme Galooti
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:01pmI don’t know the details. I DO know, however, that it was a politically motivated prosecution by a Democrat prosecutor who is notorious for dubious “discretion.” Additionally, Austin is somewhat of a San Francisco in an otherwise conservative Texas. His jury may have been packed with typically dishonest liberals who would rather cheat and lie than tell the truth. Just guessing here, but I’d be willing to put a fiver on it.
Luckily his appeals won’t proceed through the ninth circus.
Report Post »kindling
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 6:06amThe left is only restrained by their imaginations because they choose to believe what ever they wish, true or not true and sometimes a mixture of both. When you have principals you search for truth and realize it becomes a lie if your imagination gets involved. The left uses their feelings to motivate themselves, the right uses reason.
Report Post »Dale
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:49pmAngel D: good point. Will these crooks go to jail? I think not. However, if I recall correctly, wasn‘t he convicted of ’crimes’ that occurred before they were crimes?
Report Post »LadyLirpa
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:05pmWhen will they go to jail? Approximately the same time Bush is convicted for his war crimes and all of the hypocritical dumbass Republican politicians caught in gay scandals will be held accountable for their actions.
In other words, never. Especially not when you clowns only want to hold the Dems responsible, but remain tight-lipped about you conservative criminals.
Report Post »Angel D
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:05pmShouldn’t Union dues used to support the Democrats be illegal. Aren’t they robbing the pension fund?
Report Post »Dale
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:19pmLadyLirpa;
You’re wrong. I am not a republican – I’m a conservative/libertarian: I want anyone violating the public trust fully prosecuted.
Report Post »turgon
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:00pmLadyLirpa
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:05pm
“When will they go to jail? Approximately the same time Bush is convicted for his war crimes”
War Crimes, hahahahahah. Stop drinking the Kool-aid. Do you also believe he caused Hurricane Katrina and 9/11.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:11pmDale – I think you are correct. the “deeds” were done before the law making them illegal was in effect.
Report Post »Fitz1973
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:12pmLadylesbo – I bet you think Rangel’s an honest guy and Eric Holder made the right decision in not convicting black on white crimes. I know your check from the government wont be here until the 30th but please don’t riot (steal) to get you a new tv to sell to get you those gold teeth because of this. Just hang in there , their are plenty of gold teeth left..
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:21pmLadylirpa – You seem to be under the misguided impression that the people on this sight are all republicans. You are wrong. One note, if you wish to be taken seriously, stop the name calling & ridiculous false accusations. Thank you & good luck learning the truth.
Report Post »sportlock
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:30pm@ladylirpa
1. I’m not following the Stay tight lipped thingy. This is a conservative site, with an article about the prosecution of a Republican describing the crime. An accurate description would be loose lipped if anything.
2. Does Newsweek, Rollingstone, Msnbc, Cnn, Abc, Nbc, Cbs, Time mag, Npr, Huffpo, (well you get the point) ever run a story of anything bad about a Democrat without spinning it or omitting the party the Dem is affiliated with?
You can have your say, I appreciate it, but, do you hold the party you side with to the same standards? If not that makes you exactly what you call us, hypocrites..
Report Post »Angel D
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:43pmCharlie Rangel, Maxine Waters, Blogo!
Report Post »crossdraw
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:39pmOMG My tears won’t stop flowing. A poor,mis-understood servant got caught. Oh you poor man. You will, hoefully, have plenty of company because 98% of this government needs jailed ASAP. Beginning with the idiot who said he is going to “fundamentally transform America.” There’s a constitution Dumb Ass.
Report Post »sportlock
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:21pmMake no mistake, If you get caught, I have no sympathy. As a public servant you should carry yourself with above average moral values at all times. I just wish the strong arm of the law were equally strong for Democrats and Republicans alike..
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:39pmWell, I wish him luck if he goes to jail. For sure, he won‘t be dancin’ with the stars again any time soon. And Tom, if you can’t beat this thing on appeal, leave those dance costumes (behind), whoops, bad choice of words there.
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:16pmTom, there are not guilty men where you are going, so you’ll feel right at home.
Report Post »Yes, the furnature is sparse, but if any red blooded American thinks that you’re in for hard time instead of the club med, well they just aren’t realistic now are they. Frankly, I hope you only get 9 in a day, and every other day at the sauna, but I guess I’ll settle for your not being in Washington DC anymore, now won’t I?
TruthTalker
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:16pmAnother innocent crooked polititian
Report Post »sportlock
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:13pmCharlie Rangel gets a “bad boy” speech and the Republican gets a possible life sentence…
Report Post »Whats weird about this?
dcwu
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:39pmOh Nancy. Nancy Pelosi. What’s happenening here? You might want to revisit those retirement plans.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:50pmI too would like to know why some are given a “pass” and others are thrown the book at. Seems like for Democrats it is considered no big deal .. when they get caught. Perhaps because it happens so often?
Report Post »CPolyzois
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:54pmI agree.
I honestly dont know what to think. It seems like old school politicians from both sides are the same. It seems to me that we are a turning point in America, and I sincerly hope we go the right way.
I think maybe we should start the Tea Party Party, wasn’t it RWR who said, “we didn’t change, the democrats did”, ( when he became Republican? ) I think the Republicans have changed too!
Report Post »SHTFMilitia.com
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 9:54pmAre there even ANY politicians left that aren’t crooked ?
If so how long does it take to turn them after they get to Washington ?
If you are prepared you may survive,
Report Post »http://www.shtfmilitia.com
untameable-kate
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 10:42pmThere is nothing wierd about it, just SOP for this country we live in these days. I feel sorry for Tom DeLay, he never stood a chance.
Report Post »Fitz1973
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:06pmRangel‘s black so he get’s a pass. Don’t you people know anything?
Report Post »jorge_washington
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 11:54pm“I too would like to know why some are given a “pass” and others are thrown the book at. Seems like for Democrats it is considered no big deal .. when they get caught. Perhaps because it happens so often?”
You can’t expect a person caught speeding to receive the same punishment as a person that intentionally kills another. The punishment fits the crime. Yet some people have no problems wishing more severe sentences on a person solely because of their political party. Delay got what he deserved, no more, no less.
And speaking of getting a pass, the King of the “pass” is Scooter Libby who was charged with obstruction of justice in the investigation of who released the name of the CIA undercover spy to the public. How many lives were lost as well as lost intelligence because of his actions. He was found guilty but never went to jail thanks to a pardon. I guess President Bush was joking when he said he wanted to catch the person responsible.
Questioning with BOLDNESS.
rebel
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 12:56amthis is what should happen to all memebers of congress. be treated as one of us! Rangel should be in jail too. not before some kangaroo court, but before a judge and jury! Then he could stimulate the legal system’s economy by buying them all off!
Report Post »jarhead996
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 1:30amTom Delay is a former congressman, therefore not a sitting congressman, which means he can be prosecuted in criminal court like any ordinary citizen. On the other hand, Charlie Rangel is a sitting congressman, which means criminal charges have to be addressed by a congressional commitee.
Report Post »kindling
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 5:56amWhen you openly live with no morals you are not held to any by other with no morals. When you profess morals you are held to the standards you set by both sides. That is how the immoral left gets away with their lies and fraud. That is why they refuse to believe there is a God. They think if they deny God they will not be held to His standards. In the end there will be one truth and I have chosen which side I will stand on…..and it will not be the left.
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 7:43amThe only miscarriage of justice here is that it took so long to convict this criminal. I don’t care what letter they have after their name, D or R, if you break the law you pay the price. Same goes for all the others in Congress who think they’re above the law. Come to think of it, same thing goes to all those illegal aliens who break the law when they invade this country. Time to enforce the laws rather than turn a blind eye to some and enforce them for others. Either enforce the laws or get rid of them.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 7:53amWell, I guess that’s the way it works in a commie society. Rules for commies and then their is everyone else.
Report Post »beekeeper
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 8:32amI want everyone to notice the years involved – 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2010 – these charges were announced to great fan-fare by a local prosecutor (who is elected, IIRC), as an air-tight, slam-dunk of a case, only to refuse to bring his case to trial for YEARS.
This case always was about exploiting the GOP’s insistence that senators and congressmen step down from leadership positions when accused of wrongdoing… The Dems wanted DeLay out of the way, and used GOP rules to accomplish that.
Compare his treatment with that of accused Democrats like Charlie Rangel who ran in TWO elections as chairman of house ways and means while awaiting an ‘ethics committee’ investigation into clear-cut tax-evasion, selling influence, illegal fundraising, illegal apartment rentals, et al…
I guess deems and GOP have different definitions of “draining the swamp”.
DeLay will be exonerated on appeal. This was not illegal at the time he did it…
Report Post »citizenx
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 11:36amYou can say what you want about Rangel… but what he did isn’t even comparable to what DeLay did. He is lucky that these are the only charges he is facing… if you remember… he had to RESIGN congress because he was complicit with Jack Abramoff… so much that they were able to sell access to GWB to Malaysia for $1M. He turned the House into a pay for play market.
Report Post »Uncle Sambo
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 10:37amI say give him the chair!
Report Post »ChrisBalsz
Posted on November 26, 2010 at 11:51am@ JORGE Seems the person “responsible” was David Broder, who was the guy who wrote the column that published Plame’s name. And he said that he was aware she was a CIA agent from cocktail party talk. And Broder testified that he checked with the agency before he submitted his column and was not told to drop it. And the guy who told Broder was not Libby; it was Richard Armitage.
Scooter Libby was convicted because a jury believed the prosecutor that Libby’s testimony that he could not remember the details was not only false, but obstruction of justice. Scooter Libby did not disclose the name of a CIA agent to the press, so your idea that he has blood on his hands is false, even if Valerie Plame handled that sort of information. She did not. She was giving the CIA confidential trade information. And Valerie Plame values her privacy so darn much, after her name was published, she had a photo shoot in Vanity Fair at her house next to her red convertible, I guess because Broder didn’t publish that.
Report Post »abc
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 5:49amRangel didn’t commit money laundering, while DeLay did. Rangel failed to pay taxes, improperly collected corporate money for a public policy institute named in his honor, and maintained multiple rent controlled apartments. None of those charges carry a life sentence, unlike DeLay’s. So why are you confused. People who do not see the world as Dem vs. GOP, but based upon facts, including legal ones, are not confused. That you are says more about you than about Rangel, DeLay or our justice system.
The real question is why Newt Gingrich hasn’t been charged for doing the same thing that DeLay did:
Report Post »“Tom DeLay and Newt Gingrich turned the US House of Representatives, “the people’s house,” into a pay-for-play machine for corporations. Put in enough money, get your special tax exemption, get your earmarked government contract, get your trade legislation and your environmental exemption, get rid of safety regulation” (Molly Ivins. “WWTD: What Would Tom Do?” Texas Observer, April 21, 2006: 14).