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ArnieBragg

Embattled DeLay to relinquish seat

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By Jonathan Weisman and Chris Cillizza

 

WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, a primary architect of the Republican majority who became one of the most powerful and feared leaders in Washington, told House allies Monday night that he will give up his seat rather than face a re-election fight that appears increasingly unwinnable.

 

The decision came three days after his former deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and corruption charges, telling federal prosecutors of a criminal enterprise being run out of DeLay's leadership offices.

 

Rudy's plea agreement did not implicate DeLay in any illegal activities, but by placing the influence-buying efforts of disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff directly in DeLay's operation, the former aide may have made an already-difficult re-election bid all but out of reach.

 

DeLay, who will turn 59 on Saturday, did not say precisely when he would step down, but under Texas law, he must either die, be convicted of a felony or move out of his district to be removed from the November ballot. DeLay told Time magazine that he is likely to change his official residence to Alexandria, Va., by the end of May. He said he informed President Bush of his decision Monday afternoon.

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nati...59_delay04.html

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Good riddance to that piece of garbage. :banana:

 

 

Yeah, now finally gas prices will drop, and cancer will be cured.

 

 

Does it make one ounce of difference in any of our lives on what he does or doesn't do, really?

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Yeah, now finally gas prices will drop, and cancer will be cured.

Does it make one ounce of difference in any of our lives on what he does or doesn't do, really?

 

It does make a difference if we actually start investigating all corrupt members of congress. If they could actually turn congress around and get honest people in there, I think it would make a huge difference.

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Now we just need every other politician in Washington to resign, and we should be all set.

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He is really not relinquishing a seat, he is not seeking re-election. To say "relinquishing" implies that the seat is his as loing as he wants it. To those of us who want term limits, this distinction is significant.

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He is really not relinquishing a seat, he is not seeking re-election. To say "relinquishing" implies that the seat is his as loing as he wants it. To those of us who want term limits, this distinction is significant.

 

He will resign in June.

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It does make a difference if we actually start investigating all corrupt members of congress. If they could actually turn congress around and get honest people in there, I think it would make a huge difference.

 

They're all corrupt. :mad:

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Yeah, now finally gas prices will drop, and cancer will be cured.

Does it make one ounce of difference in any of our lives on what he does or doesn't do, really?

 

 

 

Yes, his votes directly & indirectly impact the way you, me, and everyone else lives. Anyone legislator who can affect my wallet (taxes, profligate spending, etc.) and my freedoms is someone who can make a difference in my life.

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Does it make one ounce of difference in any of our lives on what he does or doesn't do, really?

Ask a Texan.

He gerrymandered the entire state with nonsensical voting districts so the GOP could control it.

Also, in addition to probably being a crook, the guy's a colossal jerk-off.

Good riddance.

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It COULD be a coincidence...or this could have something to do with the timing of the announcement:

 

Former DeLay aide pleads guilty in lobbyist fraud probe

 

WASHINGTON - A former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy and promised to help with an investigation of bribery and lobbying fraud that has already netted three convictions and sparked calls for ethics reform in Congress.

 

Tony Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff, admitted conspiring with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff - both while Rudy worked for DeLay and after he left the lawmaker's staff to become a lobbyist himself. Abramoff was sentenced to nearly six years in prison on Wednesday in Miami.

 

He is the second former DeLay staffer to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the lobbying probe. The plea agreement makes no allegation that the Texas lawmaker did anything wrong.

 

Rudy faces up to five years in prison, but could receive much less based on the extent of his help with the investigation.

 

Court papers for the first time also referred to a third former DeLay aide, Ed Buckham. Buckham, a onetime DeLay chief of staff, is described only as Lobbyist B, but is easily identifiable because the documents say Rudy worked with him after a brief stint at Abramoff's lobbying firm.

 

Beginning in 1997, Abramoff, his clients and Buckham's clients plied Rudy with expensive meals, trips, sports tickets, golf games and clubs, according to the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Washington.

 

The gifts included a trip to Hilton Head, S.C., in 1999 with Rudy's wife and a trip to Pebble Beach, Calif., for the 2000 U.S. Open. Rudy was given use of a suite and seven more seats to host a bachelor party at a Washington Redskins game in August 2000. He received tickets to the Daytona 500 stock car race.

 

Rudy also arranged payments through Abramoff and Buckham to a consulting firm that he created and his wife, Lisa, ran. Liberty Consulting received $86,000 in payments from or at the direction of Abramoff and others while Rudy worked for DeLay.

 

At the same time, according to the court document, Rudy agreed to "perform a series of official acts."

 

These included:

 

_Working to get federal money for the Northern Mariana Islands, which both Abramoff and Buckham wanted.

 

_Getting DeLay to oppose a postal rate increase that was opposed by magazine publishers who were represented by Abramoff.

 

_Persuading DeLay and other leading Republicans to defeat legislation that would have restricted Internet gambling.

 

Later, while working as a lobbyist, Rudy also was involved in arranging a golf trip to Scotland for Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican described as Representative 1, and congressional staffers, the court papers said. He also helped attract $50,000 from two Abramoff clients to Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation that eventually was used to pay for the Scotland trip.

 

Richard Cullen, DeLay's lawyer, called Rudy's plea good news for his client because there is nothing in it that suggested DeLay was aware of Rudy's actions. "DeLay has said repeatedly for many months that he took official actions and cast votes based only on his principles and his beliefs, and clearly nothing in the filing today indicates anything to the contrary," Cullen said.

 

Cullen said he has turned over to prosecutors e-mails from DeLay's congressional office that involve Abramoff, Rudy and Buckham.

 

Other ethics lawyers and experts, however, said the Rudy plea could be ominous for DeLay, who already is under indictment in Texas.

 

Prosecutors "are not going to lay out a case against him in this indictment," said Stanley Brand, a Washington lawyer and former counsel to House Democrats. "There is a kind of well-worn method at the Justice Department to trade up by indicting the lower-downs."

 

After leaving DeLay's staff at the end of 2000, Rudy first joined Abramoff's lobbying team at the Greenberg Traurig law firm. Soon after, he signed on with Buckham at the Alexander Strategy Group. DeLay's wife, Christine, also worked there.

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