Former US House Majority Leader Delay Found Guilty

[FSTargetDrone]

November 24, 2010

Ex-House Leader DeLay Found Guilty in Texas Case

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

AUSTIN - A Texas jury Wednesday found Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader and Texas political powerhouse, guilty in a money-laundering trial involving contributions to political campaigns.

Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before they came back with guilty verdicts against Mr. DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The verdict was the latest chapter in a long legal battle that forced Mr. DeLay to step down. The trial also opened a window on the world of campaign financing in Washington, as jurors heard testimony about large contributions flowing to Mr. DeLay from corporations seeking to influence him and junkets to posh resorts where the congressman would rub shoulders with lobbyists in return for donations.

Mr. DeLay faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge.

During the three-week trial, the prosecution presented more than 30 witnesses in an effort to prove Mr. DeLay conspired with two associates in 2002 to circumvent a state law against corporate contributions to political campaigns. Since 1903, Texas law has prohibited corporations from giving to candidates directly or indirectly.

Mr. Delay was initially charged with breaking campaign finance law, but prosecutors later switched strategies because it was impossible under the law at the time to accuse someone of conspiring to break campaign finance rules.

Instead, prosecutors used a novel legal theory never before tried in Texas: they argued Mr. DeLay and two of political operatives — John Colyandro and Jim Ellis — had violated the criminal money-laundering law. They were charged with conspiring to funnel $190,000 in corporate donations to state candidates through the Republican National Committee.

The main facts of the case were never in dispute. In mid-September 2002, as the election heated up, Mr. DeLay’s state political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, gave a check for $190,000 to the Republican National Committee. The money had been donated earlier in the year by various corporate lobbyists seeking to influence Mr. DeLay, several witnesses said.

On Sept. 13, the check was delivered to the R.N.C. by Mr. Ellis, who was Mr. Delay’s top political operative in Washington and headed his Federal political action committee. At the same meeting, Mr. Ellis also gave the Republican director of political operations, Terry Nelson, a list of state candidates and an amount to be sent to each. Mr. Nelson testified that Mr. Ellis had told him the request had come from Mr. DeLay.

In early October, donations were sent from a separate account to seven G.O.P. candidates in Texas. Six of them won. The Republican seized control of the legislature for the first time in modern history and promptly pushed through a controversial redistricting plan — orchestrated by Mr. DeLay — that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004 and helped him consolidate his power.

Jurors had to wrestle with the questions of what Mr. DeLay knew about the transaction, when did he find out and did he participate in the decision to swap the money. Another central issue facing the panel was whether the corporate contributions could be considered illicit. To be guilty of money-laundering, the prosecution had to show the money had been obtained through an illegal activity before it was laundered.

Prosecutors presented a mountain of circumstantial evidence — emails, telephone records, calendars, brochures and other documents — trying to persuade jurors that Mr. DeLay played a leading role in the plan and intended to break the Texas election law from the moment his political operatives solicited the donations.

But the lead defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin, maintained the money swap was legal and a common practice. He also presented evidence to distance Mr. DeLay from the actions of his political operatives, arguing that while Mr. Ellis told Mr. DeLay about the transaction, Mr. DeLay never gave his approval.

Judge Pat Priest has wide discretion in sentencing the former majority leader, who was known as “The Hammer” for his no-holds-barred style during 20 years in the House of Representatives. Mr. Delay could be sentenced from 2 years to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy count, and from 5 years to 99 years, or life in prison, for the money-laundering count.

One might say he could really get hammered, but I won't say that.

[Artemas]

Looks like this will put a delay on his retirement plans.

[Chardok]

Well played, sir.

Think he'll try to delay sentencing?

[wautd]

Mr. DeLay faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge.

Yeah... 5 bucks he gets the minimum sentence

[Highlord Laan]

Mr. DeLay faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge.

Yeah... 5 bucks he gets the minimum sentence

"Any prison time would adversely affect his ability to do his job." Calling it now.

[JME2]

"Any prison time would adversely affect his ability to do his job." Calling it now.

Agreed; I second this.

[FSTargetDrone]

Punishment?

Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010

Hammered: What Punishment Will Tom DeLay Get?

By Hilary Hylton / Austin

Five years and a month ago, Tom DeLay, who was once House Majority leader, set the standard for jailhouse mug shots. Smiling widely, with a twinkle in his eye, he held a metal sign: "10-20-05, Thomas Dale DeLay, Money Laundering." Now, 1,861 days later, after an epic legal struggle, a retreat from Washington back to his constituency of Sugar Land, Texas, after one cha-cha in a leopard print vest on Season Nine of Dancing with the Stars — plus a stiff waltz, a fumbled tango and a hobbled samba — the smiling former Texas congressman, the man they called "The Hammer," has been found guilty as charged.

Much is being made of the possible punishment — one to 99 years in state prison on the money laundering charge, two to 20 on a conspiracy charge. But presiding Judge Pat Priest, a semi-retired special appointee who added to the musical theme by listening to Rodgers and Hammerstein show tunes as the jury deliberated, could very well give the fallen politician probation. Sentencing will begin on Dec. 20; and, so far, prosecutors have not specified how much jail time they will demand, only that the case was a "message from the people of Texas" who want "honesty and ethics" in their public officials, according to District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. (See the top 10 worst Dancing with the Stars contestants.)

After almost 20 hours of deliberations that at several points appeared to be off track, an Austin jury found DeLay guilty of moving $190,000 in corporate donations through the Republican National Committee to a political action committee aimed at aiding GOP state legislative candidates. That push was allegedly part of DeLay's effort — a successful one — to control the congressional redistricting process. (Why Texas put Tom DeLay on trial.)

After hearing the verdict, DeLay hugged his wife and weeping daughter and faced reporters outside the Austin courtroom where his case was decided. The broad smile that had accompanied him on perp walks and through the pain of dance-induced stress fractures was gone. DeLay struggled to smile, and his eyes reflected a caught-in-the-headlights look. Stammering slightly, DeLay said the trial had been "an abuse of power and a miscarriage of justice" and he vowed to battle on. "I praise the Lord for what's going on," DeLay said. "I am not going to blame anybody... maybe we can get it before people who understand the law." (See Dancing with the Stars: The Tom DeLay Edition.)

During the almost 20 hours of deliberation, the jury appeared to be struggling with a case that was replete with circumstantial evidence. It sent out several questions about the Texas money laundering law and even a question about federal campaign donation law, prompting Judge Priest to tell them: "You may be getting away from the decisions you must make." Late Wednesday afternoon in a courthouse fast emptying for the Thanksgiving holiday, the jury announced almost at day's end they had a verdict. DeLay's high-powered attorney Dick DeGuerin appeared as crushed as his client. "To say I'm shocked is an understatement," DeGuerin said. "This will never stand up on appeal."

Earlier in the trial, DeLay had quipped that he wanted liberals on his jury because they were more empathetic. The six man, six woman jury, drawn from an Austin-area jury pool, a region of the state known for its staunch Democratic leanings, was made up of six Democrats, one Republican, three independent liberals and two independent conservatives, according to the Houston Chronicle. The forewoman was a self-described Greenpeace advocate and a former anthropology student.

Whether DeLay remains out on bail through the appeal process will depend on the judge, but there is little doubt this epic legal battle is not over. DeLay's political arch-enemies greeted the verdict with glee and, of course, tortured metaphors. "Today's ruling shows that the culture of corruption Tom DeLay created in Washington went a few too many dance steps beyond the pale of American politics," declared former Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson, who briefly held DeLay's old seat after the Hammer's sudden departure created chaos in Texas Republican circles. (Comment on this story.)

But DeLay's fate may be little comfort to Texas Democrats focused on the wider picture. Consider the former Majority Leader's last words on Dancing with the Stars. "What's a little pain when we can party," DeLay said as he took his final bow on the dance floor, debilitated by broken bones in one foot. After all, the GOP wins orchestrated by DeLay and fueled, in small part by those 2002 funding moves at the center of the trial, were just the first step in a waltz across Texas by Republicans. On election day, a couple of weeks before DeLay's verdict, Republicans strengthened their hold on the statehouse, defeating the Democratic leader and several of his lieutenants, and gaining a bulletproof two-thirds majority, giving them the right to redistrict Texas. And the Hammer could very well stay out of prison, on bail while his appeal is being heard. As for jail time, the speculation is that he will be put on probation, or given a brief time behind bars at worst, plus a hefty five-digit fine.

Sad that this arrogant SOB won't likely face more than probation. It would make me smile just a little to see him spend even a year or two behind bars.

[wautd]

Punishment?

Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010

Hammered: What Punishment Will Tom DeLay Get?

"I praise the Lord for what's going on," DeLay said. "I am not going to blame anybody... maybe we can get it before people who understand the law."

Translated: rich, god-fearing white folks like me should get a slap on the wrist instead of doing prison time.

[SirNitram]

The delay jokes are bad. Can't we be simple?

'Hammer going to Slammer'. There. Simple, concise.

[Artemas]

we made those jokes days ago.

what was your delay?

[Davis 51]

My personal favorite was "the hammer got nailed."

As for actual punishment? My hope is that he'd get at least 5-10 years, but I'd settle for 1-3. But yeah, likely to just get probation and all, the bastard.