CTV.ca | DeLay indicted in Texas campaign finance probe

DeLay indicted in Texas campaign finance probe
Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a serious blow for President George W. Bush, powerful Republican Tom DeLay was forced to step down Wednesday as House majority leader to face a conspiracy charge in a Texas campaign finance scheme.

Bush, who relied on DeLay's tough style to push policy, is already having a tough time dealing with a party beleaguered by the weak response to hurricane Katrina and divided over how to pay for a massive rebuilding project.

Now DeLay's indictment after years of pushing ethical boundaries provides an opportunity for Democrats to pound Republicans on corruption issues in the run-up to next year's congressional elections.

DeLay, know as "the Hammer'' on Capitol Hill, came out swinging and proclaimed his innocence after word broke that a Texas grand jury charged him and two associates with violating a law banning corporate contributions to state candidates.

The charge came after a long investigation by Democratic district attorney Ronald Earle that DeLay has always portrayed as a political witch hunt.

"I have done nothing wrong,'' said DeLay, calling Earle a "rogue prosecutor'' and a "partisan fanatic.''

"I am innocent,'' he said. "This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history. It's a sham.''

Said Earle: "My job is to prosecute felonies. I'm doing my job.''

Republicans expressed support for DeLay as they selected Roy Blunt from Missouri, the current party whip in the House, to fill in temporarily.

The White House also stuck by DeLay, calling him "a good ally, a leader who we have worked closely with to get things done for the American people.''

"I think the president's view is that we need to let the legal process work,'' said press secretary Scott McClellan.

DeLay, who will keep his seat representing Houston suburbs, vowed he'll be back, saying Democrats won't be able to disrupt the party's agenda.

But some analysts don't see it that way, especially since Republicans have other high-profile ethical concerns.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is facing questions about the timing of a stock sale in a family-owned business.

Karl Rove, White House chief of staff, has been embroiled in controversy over the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

And a top federal procurement officer appointed by Bush was arrested this month on charges that he made false statements and obstructed a federal investigation into a golfing junket arranged by lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

DeLay, 58, has long been at the centre of controversy. He was admonished three times last year by the House ethics committee for his conduct on three separate issues.

Now a Senate panel is pursuing his ties to Abramoff and questions about who paid the bills for DeLay's expensive overseas travel.

"The Republicans can't focus right now,'' said Charles Cushman, a politics professor at George Washington University.

"You've got this swirling set of accusations about greed, corruption and graft. This is going to follow them right up to the 2008 election. It's going to hurt a lot.''

Democrat Nancy Pelosi, House minority leader, was quick off the mark Wednesday.

"The criminal indictment ... is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American people,'' she said in a statement.

The indictment accuses DeLay of accepting $155,000 US from companies and funnelling it through the Republican National Committee back to Texas state candidates, violating laws outlawing corporate donations.

It's a state felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

The charge came three weeks after a state political action committee DeLay created, Texans for a Republican Majority, was also indicted on accepting corporate contributions for use in 2002 state legislative races.

John Colyandro, former executive director of the Texas committee, and Jim Ellis, who heads DeLay's national political committee, were also charged.

After Republicans gained control of the Texas legislature, DeLay created a federal redistricting plan that resulted in an increase of the Republican majority in the U.S. Congress.

DeLay Must Appear in Austin on Charge

DeLay was indicted Wednesday on one count of criminal conspiracy for his alleged role in a campaign finance scheme that helped give Republicans power in the Texas House and in Congress.
DeLay's attorneys were working out the details of when the 11-term congressman would return to Texas in hopes of saving him from further embarrassment, they said.

"What we're trying to avoid is Ronnie Earle having him taken down in handcuffs, and fingerprinted and photographed. That's uncalled for and I don't think that's going to happen," said Dick DeGuerin, DeLay's attorney.

Earle, the Travis County district attorney, said it is up to the court to decide how DeLay would be arraigned.

It was not immediately clear whether DeLay would have to go through booking after responding to the summons for arraignment, said his attorney Bill White.

A bond amount would be set beforehand so Delay could immediately pay it and avoid a stay in jail. He also could waive going before a magistrate to have his rights and charges read to him, said Roger Wade, Travis County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

DeLay could go to trial in 90 days, which the defense said it favored. "We want a trial right away," DeGuerin said. "We want a trial by the end of the year."

Buck Wood, an attorney who represents Democrats suing some of the corporations that contributed to DeLay's PAC, said although it's difficult to go to trial quickly that may best serve DeLay.

"I can understand why Tom DeLay wants a quick trial, because politically (the indictment) paralyzes him," Wood said.

DeLay Is Indicted and Forced to Step Down as Majority Leader

By DAVID STOUT
Published: 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.

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."

Go easy on the gas, Bush tells US :

Go easy on the gas, Bush tells US : Mail & Guardian Online

United States President George Bush is calling on Americans to conserve petrol by doing less driving, in the wake of the two hurricanes which have curtailed oil production and supply along the Gulf coast. He also issued a directive for federal agencies to reduce energy consumption, urging employees to share cars or use public transport.

Speaking after a briefing at the energy department in Washington, Bush said on Monday that it was up to all Americans to "pitch in" by being better conservers of energy: "I mean, people just need to recognise that these storms have caused disruption and that if they're able to maybe not drive ... on a trip that's not essential, that would be helpful.

"If it makes sense for the citizen out there to curtail non-essential travel, it darn sure makes sense for federal employees ... We can encourage employees to car pool or use mass transit, and we can shift peak electricity use to off-peak hours. There's ways for the federal government to lead when it comes to conservation," he said.

The White House said Bush had instructed agency and department heads that the federal government must "lead by example and further contribute to the relief effort by reducing its own fuel use during this difficult time".

He told the heads to report to him within 30 days, and describe the energy conservation steps they had taken. The White House added on Monday that it was also taking steps to reduce its own energy use -- for example, by looking at shortening Bush's motorcade, which typically has dozens of motorcycle outriders, several gas-guzzling vans, SUVs, Bush's limousine, and an identical limo put in as a decoy.

Fuel consumption is even higher on Bush's cross-country travels -- on Tuesday made his seventh trip to the Gulf since Katrina struck -- which include flights on Air Force One as well as helicopters for the president, his staff, secret service agents, and the press corps that accompanies him. The air force recently estimated fuel costs for Air Force One at $6 029 per hour. Bush was also said to be reminding staff to turn off lights.

But Republican leaders in Congress have infuriated environmental groups by pushing policies offering tax breaks to oil companies, and relaxing rules on drilling. "The hurricanes are being used as cover to attack vital environmental and health requirements before anybody realises what they are doing," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch.

In Congress, Republicans prepared to move forward on Wednesday with energy legislation to provide tax breaks to oil companies engaged in refinery expansion and construction. More controversially, two House of Representative committees are expected to push forward with proposals -- blocked in the past because of environmental concerns -- to allow states to opt out of Congressional bans on coastal oil-drilling, and another proposal to allow drilling in the Arctic national refuge.

A spokesperson for the environmentalist Sierra Club said on Tuesday: "The Republican leadership in Congress is already using the tragedy of Katrina and Rita as an excuse to advance their narrow political agenda and renew calls for another polluting energy bill." Other groups criticised Bush for asking for sacrifices on fuel use when the administration failed to make the automotive industry raise fuel economy standards.

Meanwhile, the former head of Fema, the federal emergency management agency, on Tuesday defended his role in responding to Katrina, and put much of the blame for coordination failures on Louisiana's Governor, Kathleen Blanco, and New Orleans' Mayor, Ray Nagin. "My biggest mistake was not recognising by Saturday [two days before the hurricane struck] that Louisiana was dysfunctional," Michael Brown told a special Congressional panel.

Other voices: 'He's the one in a big old jetplane'

It don't cut no ice with me. Look at him [George Bush], he rides around in that damned big old jetplane [Air Force One] and that helicopter [Marine One]. How much damned fuel is he conserving doing that?

He's going back down to Louisiana today, but if he really wanted to make a difference, why doesn't he stay here and stop getting in the way? He's like a big old oil baron anyway. What does he care? Right now I think he's just trying to raise his own image through everybody else's pockets.

What am I gonna do? I have to get to work. I drive in from Gettysburg every day, near enough a 100-mile (160km) round trip, and there ain't no other way I'm going to get here. But the price of gas is ridiculous. It must be a dollar more than it was this time last year. You see these people round here, these yuppies in their big old SUVs cutting you up when they go round corners, I can see the case for making them conserve fuel. But they won't. They can afford it. Even if gas goes up to $5 a gallon, they'll complain about it, but they'll still pay for it.

Paid finger-pointer: Brown's employment keeps tarnish on FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency acquired a tarnished image after Hurricane Katrina, and it has not distinguished itself with its performance after Hurricane Rita. The retention of former director Michael Brown shows the administration still doesn't grasp the cause of FEMA's impairment.

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Americans were treated Tuesday to the spectacle of ex-FEMA director Michael Brown leading off a televised congressional investigation of the botched federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Brown laid down a barrage of blame for just about everybody involved but himself and the president. Brown, the longtime buddy of the previous FEMA director, Joe Allbaugh, and a former supervisor of Arabian horse shows, has something in common with President Bush: a reluctance to own up to failure.

After criticizing Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Brown even took a potshot at the Homeland Security bureaucracy for failing to budget for needed disaster response equipment. As for his own responsibility for the delay in getting federal manpower and assistance into the storm zone, the best Brown could come up with was not recognizing that Louisiana authorities were dysfunctional and not calling enough media briefings.

Although the president relieved Brown of his responsibilities and named an acting director of FEMA earlier this month, the man he nicknamed "Brownie" continues to draw his full salary, and his resignation will not take effect for at least two weeks, according to Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke. The official rationale is that Brown can provide federal officials with his expertise and views on his experiences during Hurricane Katrina.

If Brown's expertise has helped during the subsequent Hurricane Rita episode, it has not been apparent in East Texas. An angry Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith blasted the federal relief effort for failing to deliver promised fuel, food and generators. He even suggested that local law enforcement should seize the supplies from the feds if necessary.

In Washington, both Republicans and Democrats criticized Brown. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., contrasted Brown's performance as FEMA director with that of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani during the 2001 terrorist attack.

Brown responded, "So I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans."

"What I wanted you to do was do your job and coordinate," Shays answered.

It seems Brown's continuing FEMA duties include pointing fingers everywhere except where the blame for the woeful federal response belongs. He and other unqualified political appointees failed to provide necessary leadership for an agency crucial to the safety of millions of Americans. For that, they and the president who hired them must accept ultimate responsibility.

WITH BUSH AT THE HELM, ARMED MEXICAN TROOPS CONVOY INTO US FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 90 YEARS

With King George the Cowardly sitting woozily at the king's throne in Washington, the ultimate affront to our sovereignty has occurred. Posing as "helpers", armed military Mexican troops are storming down American highways, roaming freely down US 183 in Austin Texas.

Any red blooded American should see what this retard in the White House has done...sell our country out to the globalist hordes, slaves of the Copyright Cartel....read the tale of the tape...
http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_international.asp?id=94133
Thursday, September 08, 2005 4:53:23 PM ET

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (Reuters) - A Mexican army convoy rolled into the United States on Thursday with food, water and medicine for Hurricane Katrina victims, the first Mexican military operation on U.S. soil in 90 years.

Part of an aid package that includes ships and rescue teams, the convoy of 45 olive-green vehicles and some 200 troops went over the Rio Grande into Texas from the city of Nuevo Laredo, witnesses said.

Mexicans, who often have a love-hate relationship with their northern neighbor, are surprised and proud at being able to help in the hurricane aftermath. Mexico has often been the recipient of foreign aid for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

People cheered, waved, honked car horns and rang bells in villages as the convoy snaked up to the border this week.

While millions of Mexicans have trekked north in pursuit of the American dream, many at home are still sore at having lost half their territory to the United States in the 19th century.

Mexico is one of dozens of nations, including some as poor as Cuba and Bangladesh, to offer aid to the United States as it grapples with one of the worst natural disasters in its history in hurricane-swamped New Orleans and surrounding areas.

The Mexican army trucks, filled with of thousands of ready-to-eat meals, drinking water and medical equipment, were searched like regular vehicles as they crossed the border early on Thursday headed for San Antonio, Texas customs officials said.

"It's a good thing because they're taking aid to the victims," said Beatriz Gonzalez, 26, who gave the troops free soft drinks as they stopped for gasoline on the Mexican side of the border.

Troops inside the trucks were given malaria tablets and vaccinations against diseases like Hepatitis, Cholera and Tetanus -- ironically the same shots wary American tourists might get before visiting parts of Mexico.

Mexican forces under revolutionary Gen. Francisco "Pancho" Villa, angry at U.S. support for a rival, staged a small raid into New Mexico in 1916.

They were the bedraggled remnants of an army faction on the losing side of the Mexican revolution but their action is seen by historians as the last military incursion into the United States.

The Villa troops killed several people on a raid on Columbus, New Mexico, prompting Washington to send a larger force into Mexico in retaliation.

The two countries fought a full-blown war in the mid-19th century, when the United States took what are now its southwestern states from Mexico.

Mexico and the United States are now trade partners and President Vicente Fox told Reuters this week that the military convoy was a sign of how close the two nations now are.

THE ANUS THAT SPEAKS IN THE GOVERNORSHIP CONTINUES TO SHAME TEXAS

THE ANUS THAT SPEAKS IN THE GOVERNORSHIP CONTINUES TO SHAME TEXAS
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Perry criticized for pushing his own charity foundation

Governor's office defends promotion of relief effort


12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, September 8, 2005


By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News


AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry, in hurricane relief tours around the state, in news releases and on his official state Web site, has urged Texans to contribute to three groups: the Red Cross, Salvation Army and the OneStar Foundation.

The last of those is a volunteer-coordinating effort founded by Mr. Perry. His prominent promotion of his own foundation has prompted some to question whether the governor is trying to benefit politically from the outpouring of sympathy and good works in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"One thing about politicians, you can never overestimate their shamelessness," said Fred Lewis, director of Campaigns for People, a group that favors greater disclosure of political donations and limits on the influence of large donors.

Mr. Perry created OneStar as a nonprofit charitable organization in January 2004 to coordinate faith-based initiatives and promote volunteerism. Its chief executive is Susan Weddington, who left the state Republican Party chairmanship to run the organization.

"There are such heavy political overtones, and when you're governor, you can never separate yourself from the politics to promote an altruistic cause," Mr. Lewis said.

The governor's press secretary, Kathy Walt, said OneStar was the natural vehicle to help coordinate statewide donation efforts and direct individuals and businesses that want to provide goods and materials. She said politics was not a consideration.

"There had to be one place to send people to," Ms. Walt said. "It was the right place within the state structure to go."

Through legislation, the governor placed his divisions of faith-based initiatives, adult mentoring and the AmeriCorps volunteer program in the OneStar Foundation. It operates with federal grant money.

Ms. Weddington and Mr. Perry have also been featured speakers of the Texas Restoration Project, a statewide effort to unite churches and organize their membership to vote in coming elections.

Mr. Perry's picture is prominent throughout OneStar's Web site, which says the foundation was "birthed from the heart and vision of Governor Rick Perry."

Ms. Weddington said that her office is serving as a clearinghouse for evacuee relief efforts, trying to connect donated goods with those who need them through the One-Star Web site's Texas Responds page.

"Obviously, the governor tapped us because we do work for and on behalf of the state," she said. "This is the logical place."

Ms. Weddington said that there is nothing political about the foundation, and that she was chosen for her longtime interest in volunteerism and community service.

Suzii Paynter, director of citizenship for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, said OneStar has done well at coordinating the huge influx of donations. The foundation's Web page has made information available to groups throughout the state, she said.

"Rick Perry has never lacked for photo ops. But there is a huge need for money and donations that can be used in this state that don't need to go through the big national organizations," Ms. Paynter said.

She said that while there might be some political benefit, One- Star is also fulfilling a huge need.

"Does it look like that there might be an incidental self-serving aspect to it? Perhaps. My experience with politicians is that if you give them a handle, they'll grab it," she said.

Ms. Walt said the governor has promoted OneStar not because he established it but because it is well-suited to the task.

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-onestar_08tex.ART.State.Edition2.37e1458.html

Grand jury indicts panel connected to DeLay

Grand jury indicts panel connected to DeLay
Associated Press

USTIN — A Travis County grand jury has indicted Texans for a Republican Majority, a committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, along with the Texas Association of Business in connection with 2002 campaign contributions.

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The five felony indictments against the two groups were made public today. Neither DeLay nor any individuals with the business group has been charged with wrongdoing.

"All five of these indictments involve the misuse of corporate money to influence Texas elections in 2002," District Attorney Ronnie Earle said.

The allegations reveal that the two groups worked together in a complicated scheme to circumvent the election code and funnel "massive amounts of secret corporate wealth" into campaigns, Earle said.

The charge against Texans for a Republican Majority, known as TRMPAC, alleged the committee illegally accepted a political contribution of $100,000 from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care.

Four indictments against the Texas Association of Business include charges of unlawful political advertising, unlawful contributions to a political committee and unlawful expenditures such as those to a graphics company and political candidates.

The contributions to the 21 Texas House candidates helped Republicans gain a majority in the chamber in the 2002 election. Speaker Tom Craddick then became the first Republican to lead the House since Reconstruction.

Craddick has been subpoenaed in the investigation and questioned about acting as middleman in delivering the $100,000 check from the nursing home group to Texans for Republican Majority. Craddick has not been accused of illegal activity.

If convicted, the two groups named in the indictments announced today could face fines of up to $20,000 for each charge.

Defense attorney Roy Minton, who represents the Texas Association of Business, received copies of the indictments against it this morning, he said.

Minton said he went with TAB president Bill Hammond to a meeting with prosecutors on Wednesday to try to head off criminal charges against the organization or its officers.

The statewide business group, which is influential at the Texas Capitol, spent about $1.7 million in corporate money for mailings in 2002. The group said it was trying to educate voters on issues, which is legal, not advocate the election or defeat of any candidates.

Earle has been investigating whether the contributions violate state bans against corporate money being spent directly on campaign activities.

The grand jury last fall indicted three officials with Texans for a Republican Majority. John Colyandro of Austin and Jim Ellis of Washington, D.C., each were accused of one count of money laundering. Colyandro also faces 13 counts of unlawful acceptance of a corporate political contribution.

Washington fundraiser Warren Robold was indicted on charges of accepting or making corporate donations.

All are now awaiting trial.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3345113