DeLay Is Indicted and
Forced
to Step Down as
Majority Leader
By DAVID STOUT,
NYTimes on the Web, September 28, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 -
Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the powerful House Republican majority
leader, was accused by a Texas grand jury today of criminal conspiracy in a
campaign fund-raising scheme.
Mr. DeLay was indicted on one count charging that he violated state election
laws in September 2002. Two political associates, John D. Colyandro and
James W. Ellis, were indicted with him.
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Pool photo by Charles Dharapak
"I have done
nothing wrong," Representative Tom DeLay said, adding that he had violated
"no law, no regulation, no rule of the House." |
The indictment of Mr. DeLay, while
not entirely unexpected, still reverberated through the Capitol. The House
Republican rules require a member of the leadership to step down, at least
temporarily, if indicted. Representative David Dreier of California is expected
to replace him.
A conviction on the felony charge against Mr. DeLay, 58, carries a maximum
sentence of two years in prison. The lawmaker has consistently maintained
his innocence and today asserted that the indictment resulted from a "purely
political investigation" by the Travis County district attorney, Ronnie Earle, a
Democrat.
"I have done nothing wrong," Mr. DeLay said, adding that he had violated "no
law, no regulation, no rule of the House."
Mr. DeLay, speaking on Capitol Hill, described Mr. Erle, a longtime antagonist,
as "a partisan fanatic" and a "rogue district attorney" and said the prosecutor
had shamelessly courted journalists on "the only days he actually comes to the
office."
Mr. DeLay said the charge lodged against him today was "one of the weakest, most
baseless indictments in American history," one that is "a sham, and Mr. Earle
knows it."
Mr. Earle, in a separate news conference, disputed Mr. DeLay's contentions.
"We have over the years prosecuted a number of public officials," he said in
Houston, adding that it was his duty to go after "abuses of power." In
fact, he said, he has prosecuted more Democrats than Republicans.
At the White House, the president's chief spokesman, Scott McClellan, expressed
support for Mr. Delay, telling reporters, "Mr. Delay is a good ally and a leader
who we have worked closely with for the good of the American people."
"The president's view is to let the legal process work," Mr. McClellan said.
"There's a legal process and we're going to let it work."
Democrats were quick to seize on Mr. DeLay's troubles. "The criminal
indictment of Majority Leader Tom Delay is the latest example that Republicans
in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the
American people," the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of
California, said in a statement.
Mr. DeLay is second only to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois in power in
the House of Representatives and has been credited with shepherding much of his
party's legislative programs through Congress. He has also been seen as a
key in expanding the Republican majority in the House, which now stands at 231
to 202 Democrats, with one independent and one vacancy.
Mr. Hastert has recommended that Mr. Dreier assume Mr. DeLay's duties as
majority leader, with Representative Roy Blount of Missouri, the present
majority whip, taking on some functions. Republicans were meeting this
afternoon to put the speaker's recommendations into effect.
The indictment asserts that Mr. Colyandro and Mr. Ellis were part of a scheme in
which corporations contributed large sums ($50,000 in one instance, and $25,000
in at least three other instances) that were destined for the Republican
National Committee. The indictment includes a copy of a check for $190,000
made out to the Republican National State Elections Committee, a component of
the party's national committee. That money was to go to various candidates
for the Texas Legislature, the indictment says.
The indictment came just three weeks after a political organization formed by
Mr. DeLay, Texans for a Republican Majority, was indicted on charges of taking
illegal corporate money while Mr. DeLay was helping Republicans win control of
the Texas Legislature as well as strengthening their hold on Congress.
The DeLay organization was charged with accepting a contribution of $100,000
from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care and one of $20,000 from AT&T.
A statewide business group, the Texas Association of Business, was also charged.
State law prohibits use of corporate contributions to advocate the election or
defeat of state candidates, and prosecutors accuse the DeLay organization of
engaging in a complex scheme to circumvent the law.
Mr. DeLay, who has also come under fire from the House ethics committee on three
occasions in recent months, will not have to leave his post as the congressman
from Texas's 22d District, near Houston, as a result of the indictment.
But by his having to step down from his leadership position, his power will be
vastly diminished, at least for the time being.
Mr. DeLay has won the grudging respect of Democrats for his effectiveness, not
only in pushing legislation through the House but for helping to strengthen the
Republican majority. In Texas, he helped to engineer a redistricting plan
that boosted the Texas Republican majority to 21-11 in the current Congress.
Mr. DeLay's troubles come at an awkward time for Republicans, as President Bush
is sagging in public opinion surveys and as the Senate majority leader, Bill
Frist, Republican of Tennessee, has been defending himself against questions
about the timing of the sale of stock in a family-owned business.
To compound embarrassment for the Republicans, Mr. DeLay is a close friend of
Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who has been under scrutiny by the
Justice Department for more than a year and who has been indicted on unrelated
federal fraud charges in Florida.
Democrats are sure to try to capitalize on the Republican troubles in next
year's Congressional elections, and probably in the presidential election
campaign of 2008.
Representative Tom Reynolds of New York, the chairman of the National Republican
Congressional Committee, asserted today that the political motive behind the
investigation of Mr. DeLay was obvious. "The majority leader has been a
highly effective leader of our conference," Mr. Reynolds said. "Democrats
resent Tom DeLay because he routinely defeats them -- both politically and
legislatively."
"Until Majority Leader Tom DeLay has his day in court, it is vitally important
he be afforded the same presumption of innocence afforded to every other
American," Mr. Reynolds said.
Mr. Dreier, who will take over the majority leader's office, was first elected
to Congress in 1980 and is currently chairman of the powerful Rules Committee.
On his Web site he describes his "core principles" as "working to promote
individual liberty, economic opportunity, strong U.S. global leadership, and
limited but effective government."
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