Raise the freakin flag !!
CNN is reporting that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Beagle Boys) has been indicted by the grand jury on one count of criminal conspiracy in Travis County, Texas according to the Travis County clerk's office....
MSNBC has the story online. Prosecutor Ronnie Earle will give more details this afternoon. One associate will face additional charges. This charge is related to state election code violation in 2002. Thanks to AZnomad, the indictment is posted
HERE.
Earle is a Democrat,
who has indicted politicians of both parties. DeLay of course is blaming politics. "Skunky indictment that stinks up the whole road," says DeLay's lawyer, Bill White. The rule about stepping down as majority leader is a rule of the Republican conference, not of the House, and would have required a vote.
However,
DeLay will voluntarily step down from his leadership position, (confirmed by a statement from DeLay's office.
MORE BELOW
CNN first reported that Speaker Hastert was saying that
David Drier of California would step into DeLay's position. Dreier, however, apparently has a sexual orientation abhorrent to fundos. Whatever, after conferring with House Republicans, Hastert is indicating that Roy Blunt, Republican whip from Missouri, is to be the choice, though he is
tightly involved with DeLay, and has
ethical/image issues, with a divorce and an affair with a tobacco lobbyist, and a
son who is a lobbyist.
The case has been described at dKos by
soonergrunt, kos and others, and elsewhere. "On Sept. 8, TRMPAC and lobby group Texas Association of Business were indicted on charges of illegally funneling corporate donations into the 2002 elections for Texas Legislature."
LINK
The amount in question is $190k in local corporate contributions which was "laundered" through the Republican National committee and then came back to Texas.
Scotty McClellan at the
WH press conference terms DeLay a 'good ally' and a 'close friend' of the President, who has "worked with the President to enact legislation that has improved the lives of all Americans." [choke]. Then spouts out the "legal process" stuff, preventing further comment.
One of the press corps asked: "Is the president concerned about the
stench of corruption?" Scotty of course wouldn't respond.
CNN is pointing out that DeLay will have to run for reelection in 2006 while under indictment. DeLay's sleazy adventures have collected four warnings from the House Ethics Committee. A good summary of his bad business can be found at
this link.
Ronnie Earl's news conference: DeLay could be punished by up to 2 years in state jail and $10,000 fine. 8 corporations, 4 individuals have been indicted in this case, on a total of some 80 charges. Earl says that DeLay filed a waiver of the statute of limitations some weeks ago. Earl says that in the past, He has indicted 15 politicians, 12 of whom have been Democrats.
DeLay's statement: says he is innocent, and calls the indictment a "sham," says he's done nothing unethical or illegal, and denounces Earl in strong terms, as a "rogue" "abusing power," "reckless charge," etc. "partisan fanatic," "personal revenge" for DeLay's role in redistricting. He says he will "temporarily step aside." Calls Earl "unabashed partisan zealot," who is conducting an "abusive investigation." Says that an article in Earl's hometown newspaper forced Earl to come up with the indictment. "I have done nothing wrong." There's hard work ahead of us in Washington..."