Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative Tom DeLay was indicted for the second time in less than a week by a Texas grand jury in connection with alleged campaign-fundraising abuses.
DeLay, 58, was charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering today. Under House of Representatives rules, he had to step down as majority leader, the No. 2 Republican post in that body, after the initial indictment handed up on Sept. 28 charged him with a single count of conspiracy.
Lawyers for DeLay earlier today had tried to get the conspiracy indictment thrown out, saying it wasn't applicable because the law making it illegal went into effect after the alleged infraction. The new charges followed. DeLay has denied any wrongdoing and called the latest charges brought Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle ``an abomination.''
Earle ``may be worried about the conspiracy indictment as being particularly weak,'' said Jan Baran, a lawyer at Wiley Rein & Fielding in Washington, referring to last week's indictment. While Baran hadn't read the second indictment, he said the first charge had gaps in evidence.
Earle couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
DeLay and two associates, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro, are accused of taking $190,000 in corporate money for the 2002 state legislative races and sending it to the Republican National Committee, which in turn contributed $190,000 to Texas legislative candidates, according to the state. Under Texas election law, corporate donations cannot be spent on political campaigns.
Capturing Legislature
The Republicans captured control of the Texas legislature in 2002 for the first time since during the Reconstruction period that followed the U.S. Civil War. The new Republican majorities then redrew the congressional district lines without waiting for the next U.S. Census, helping the party increase its majority in the U.S. House.
The statute of limitations in Texas would have run out tomorrow on the money-laundering activities, so today was the last day Earle could bring the new indictment, Baran said. Dick DeGuerin, DeLay's attorney, said the latest grand jury was empaneled today and handed up the indictment five hours later.
``If we go to court, we're going to win,'' DeGuerin said tonight during a televised press conference from Sugar Land, Texas, DeLay's district. ``I thought this would be resolved quickly and Congressman DeLay would resume his leadership post. But obviously the game here is to keep Congressman DeLay out of his leadership post in Washington.''
`New Low'
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt was named majority leader on an acting basis after DeLay stepped down last week. DeLay said he would continue to advise the Republican leadership while fighting the charges against him.
``Ronnie Earle has stooped to a new low with his brand of prosecutorial abuse,'' DeLay said today 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.''
The law making conspiracy illegal didn't go into effect until Sept. 1, 2003, a year after the alleged actions took place, Baran said.
Today's indictment is the latest in a series of legal and ethical problems faced by DeLay. He was rebuked three times last year by the House ethics committee. He also had a close relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is under investigation by a Justice Department-led task force.
From http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a_EB.E8oCfwE&refer=us
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