The civil suit in Austin, TX against TRMPAC (Texans for a Republican Majority PAC) Treasurer Bill Ceverha ended Friday. The judge will deliver his decision in a few weeks. Neither Tom DeLay nor Bill Craddick were parties to the suit, but their ears must sure be burning.
This civil suit by five Texas Democratic Legislators who were defeated by Republicans using TRMPAC money and assistance is about whether corporate money was illegally raised by TRMPAC and spent to defeat them. TRMPAC was founded by Jim Ellis founded TRMPAC, he says at Tom DeLay's direction. He did so with Republican political consultant John Colyandro. Ellis also runs Delay's Americans for a Republican Majority.
While Tom DeLay wasn't a party to this suit, it is closely related to Austin District Attorney Ronnie Earle's criminal investigation of the illegal use of corporate money in the Texas election in 2002 that elected the first Republican House majority in Texas since Reconstruction days, and caused Bill Craddick to be elected House Majority Leader by the Republicans. It was these events that allowed the Republicans to redistrict the Congressional Districts in Texas causing four Democrats to lose federal House seats and locking Tom DeLay's hold on his House Majority Leader job a bit tighter.
The Houston Chronicle offers the story on the end of the civil suit.
The DCCC has a story on its weblog, as you might expect. More interesting, so does Redstate and Michelle Malkin.
Tom's in trouble. I really hope it lasts until the next election, but by the looks of it, the Republicans are beginning to get the clean-up squad in gear to get him out of office a lot sooner than that. DeLay's ethical problems are getting to be more than just cosmetic blemishes. The Republicans will probably cut their losses with him soon, so that when he goes he doesn't take very many other Republicans with him.
Damn!
No comments:
Post a Comment