Ethics Rebuke to DeLay Prompts Democratic Calls for Ouster

[seemslikeadream]

By DAVID STOUT

Published: October 7, 2004


ASHINGTON, Oct. 7 — Top House Democrats today condemned Representative Tom DeLay, the leader of the Republican majority, declaring that the latest ethics case against him proved that he had been corrupted by power and was unfit to lead.

"The ethical cloud that has been hanging over the Capitol has burst," Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, said at a news briefing. "Mr. DeLay has proven himself to be ethically unfit to lead the party.`

Other prominent Democrats joined Ms. Pelosi in condemning Mr. DeLay and calling for his replacement during a question-and-answer session that seemed to signal a new level of partisan bitterness in the House with elections less than four weeks away.

"Isolated incidents may be rationalized and minimized, but consistent patterns are powerful proof of corrupt practices," said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic whip.

And Representative Henry Waxman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said that "Tom DeLay has allowed power to corrupt him," and that the Republican leadership was trying to "whitewash" the charges against him.

more
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/politics/07CND-DELAY.html

[bif]

1. Go get him!

God I cn't stand that guy.

[UpInArms]

2. go Nancy!

:yourock:

Get DeLay out without delay!

[nostamj]

3. without delay... OUT WITH DELAY

totally agree! after *, he's the one I MOST want to go DOWN!

(see my bumper sticker below)

[Tight_rope]

32. I'm with you on that one...I live in his district..He's an Enron crook too

[ckramer]

5. Oh, Momma!

[newyawker99]

38. Hi ckramer!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Ganja Ninja]

4. Too bad DeLay and Limbaugh can't share a cell together.

They could take turns tossing each others salad.

Still it's great to see both of them being investigated, hopefully charged, convicted and sent up the river at nearly the same time.

[4morewars]

7. ewwwwwwwww

That's a visual i could have lived without

[anarchy1999]

6. Make the Calls, Keep up THE HEAT! Remove him NOW!

Call Committee Chairman Joel Hefley and tell him to hold Tom DeLay accountable, 202-225-4422

Paid for by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

http://www.tomdelayethicsprobe.org /

Tell Congress to Call for an Outside Counsel and Investigate DeLay

What will it take for the Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations swarming around Majority Leader Tom DeLay?


DeLay's offer to support Nick Smith's son's candidacy in return for a vote on the Medicare bill is nothing less than bribery - a federal crime. Ethics Committee's Response? Admonishment.

DeLay is found to be illegally shaking down K Street lobbyists. Ethics Committee's Response? Admonishment.

Internal Enron memos show that DeLay pressed executives for $100,000, illegally slated for redistricting Texas. Ethics Committee's Response? Silence.

A 32-count indictment is handed down against cronies of DeLay PACs. Ethics Committee's Response? Silence.

Former DeLay employee uses access to the Majority Leader to bilk Indian tribes out of millions of dollars. Ethics Committee's Response? Silence.

Rep. Chris Bell files an ethics complaint complete with mountains of evidence charging DeLay with bribery, extortion and abuse of power. Ethics Committee's Reponse? Indefinite delay.

Call for the Ethics Committee to appoint an outside counsel and investigate DeLay NOW - before Congress adjourns for the election season. Only the Ethics Committee can ensure that Congress is operating in the interests of the American people, not special interests.
The Complaint:

Count 1 - soliciting a bribe from Westar in exchange for legislation favorable to the energy company
Count 2 - laundering $190K in corporate PAC contributions thru the RNC then illegally distributing it to TX candidates
and
Count 3 - using Federal resources to track down the TX dems who fled the state in an attempt to thwart quorum for DeLay's redistricting plan


Ethics Committee Members:
***
Republicans
Joel Hefley (CO-5) 202.225.4422
Doc Hastings (WA-4)202.225.5816
Judy Biggert (IL-13)202.225.3515
Kenny Hulshof (MO-9)202.225.5712
Steven LaTourette (OH-14)202.225.5731

Democrats
Alan Mollohan (WV-1)202.225.4172
Stephanie Tubb Jones (OH-11) 202.225.7032
Gene Green (TX-29) 202.225.1688
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) 202.225.1766
Michael Doyle (PA-14)202.225.2135

Call these committee members and call your own representatives as well. If you don't then you can't complain when the ethics committee does nothing.

[anarchy1999]

29. Once Again, Make the Calls, KEEP UP THE HEAT!

It is working. We do have a voice.

[seemslikeadream]

30. anarchy1999 - "The House would descend into 'Lord of the Flies.

"Without Tom DeLay it would be complete and total chaos," said one Republican strategist with close ties to the White House. "The House would descend into 'Lord of the Flies.' "

more
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/08/politics/08delay.html

:hi:

[anarchy1999]

31. I thought it already was with DeLay in charge, I guess I missed something.

If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. It just hurts that we have to fight so hard for justice and the rule of real law. Where are the real cowboys and sheriffs'? They're still around, aren't they? Give me just one patriot, one founding father to stand up to these dicks. Damn, and excuse me please for lack of a better noun. So sorry.

[yellowcanine]

8. Won't happen - Delay knows where ALL the bodies are buried - unless

he steps down voluntarily, it won't work. But of course the Dems are right to call for it. Any chance this could get him fired by the voters? (now there is a concept)

[w4rma]

9. That's rebukes PLURAL you lame editors (nt)

[anarchy1999]

10. KICKING UP! Make the calls, DU'ers Unite! Spread this message

far and wide.

[anarchy1999]

11. I pose the question, How Many Here at DU have made the calls?

This is important and the only way we will get results is if we make our voices be heard. I hope this gets a response. Weigh in with what has happened and is there really anyone here picking up the phone?

[Carla in Ca]

12. I emailed 3 CA Congressmen (all R's, of course)

and also my Senators Feinstein & Boxer yesterday asking them to approve an outside council to investigate DeLay since he has bribed so many on the panel.
I will email them again with this new request...Just get rid of him!!!

[anarchy1999]

13. Thank you, don't just get rid of him, we want prosecution of crimes.

REMOVE him NOW!! Criminal charges pending.

[Carla in Ca]

14. OK, that works for me...just get him out of Congress!

[anarchy1999]

15. THE SMOKING GUN HAS BEEN FOUND.

AUSTIN - A newly obtained memo indicates U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay had personal involvement in directing some of the fund-raising activities of a political action committee that is under a grand jury investigation.

Three of DeLay's political associates have been indicted by a Travis County grand jury on charges of illegal fund raising involving Texans for a Republican Majority, TRMPAC. DeLay, who was a TRMPAC founder, has distanced himself from its operations.

A memo obtained by the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday indicates DeLay was more than a passive participant in TRMPAC fund-raising events.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/28345...

courtesy of PDittie over in State Forums, Texas

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x4931#4955

[seemslikeadream]

16. The Ripening Scandals of Tom Delay

Master of Corruption
By CHRISTOPHER BRAUCHLI

Corruption-the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty.

Edward Gibbon

Nostalgia. It's what we all have when we compare now with then. Contrast Tom Delay's scandals with that of Wilbur Mills.

Mr. Mills was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and one of the most powerful members of Congress. His career took a nose dive as a result of an incident in 1974 when Park Service Police stopped a car in which Wilbur and Annabell Battistella had been driving. Annabell had jumped out of the car and into the Tidal Basin at 2 A.M. Explaining scratches on his face and a bloody nose Wilbur said he had tried to prevent her from leaving the car. Annabell's nome de plum was Fanne Foxe, the "Argentine Firecracker." Following Fanne's rescue from the Tidal Basin she was taken to a hospital and when filling out papers there listed her occupation as "stripper." The event diminished Wilbur's luster, a congressman of whom it had once been said that he went home every night and studied the Internal Revenue Code. The Fanne Fox episode suggested he had discovered more amusing activities. It was a pleasant kind of scandal. Would that Tom DeLay's scandals were half as amusing and harmless. They are not.

Mr. DeLay whose early successes were as an exterminator feared by termites and ants alike, has become an exterminator of democracy, feared by those who believe that democracy depends on the integrity of its leaders. His character flaws have manifested themselves repeatedly over the years without, however, affecting the high esteem in which he is held by his Republican colleagues. A distressing number of them consider integrity to be a currency of little if any value as shown by the fact that none of them has the courage to challenge him.

In 2003 he engineered a Texas redistricting that will add Republican members to the Texas Congressional delegation. To effect this change, Mr. DeLay created "Texans for a Republican Majority," a political action committee, that solicited and spent $1.5 million to get Republicans elected to the state legislature who then pushed redistricting through. Three DeLay aides supervising the process have been indicted by a grand jury in Texas on charges ranging from money laundering to soliciting and receiving illegal corporate contributions.

Mr. DeLay said to reporters that the indictments were politically motivated and he had no knowledge of the committee's day-to-day workings. Unintentionally contradicting him, James Ellis, one of the men charged with money laundering said Mr. DeLay served on a five-member advisory board that decided which candidates to endorse. Following the indictment Mr. DeLay said: "This investigation isn,t about me. I haven,t been asked to testify. . . . I haven,t been asked to come as a witness." Mr. DeLay seems able to distinguish between himself and his lackeys. The investigation may prove to be less discerning and implicate him notwithstanding his optimism.
more
http://www.counterpunch.org/brauchli10072004.html


:hi: anarchy1999

[AndyTiedye]

18. We Don't Have Enough Votes in the House to Do Anything to Delay There

no matter how many phone calls we make.

The only way we're getting rid of Delay is either:

Morrison wins the election. A real long shot, but the best we've got right now.
I've donated to Morrison's campaign, have you?

Take over the House. A really really really long shot, due to all the redistricting Delay did.
Might still be possible if we get a big honking landslide.

[anarchy1999]

19. Wrong, there are just enough Republicans not happy with DeLay to

be happy to see him go. The more calls we make the stronger we make the case the more likely they will act. I've seen it happening for months now.

Do not Delay, make you phone calls today!!

Our voices do matter. If I ever stop believing that, then I need to leave this country. It's all Nader, Molly, Hightower, Granny D, Ben Cohen, Medea, Kevin D. and all the rest ever say. Stand up and be heard.

And please let us never forget Mario Savio.

[FlemingsGhost]

17. If Delay is smart, he'll go back to Sugarland.

D.C. is, after all, the scene of the crime.

[catzies]

28. Any hope of his district just voting him out in 26 days, or is it

the safest district ever because he "gamed the system" that way, to quote to Chimp-in-Chief? I'll bet he runs unopposed. :mad:

[CBHagman]

20. The GOP is spinning this as an "exoneration"

You're not going to believe this, but today DeLay and other representatives (among them, Rep. Brady of Texas) spoke to the press and presented his THIRD rebuke from the ethics committee as a total exoneration. One representative (one of the women; I forget her name) even made cheap shots at Nancy Pelosi, claiming the latter exerted extreme pressure during the vote on Medicare.

Can you believe these people? Nick Smith claimed there were open threats and offers of bribery in exchange for his vote, and the Republicans are attacking PELOSI.

They also made some noises about wanting to prevent another 9/11, which is another damned lie, because they're too busy holding votes on gay marriage and the like to pursue something like, for example, chemical plant or rail security. They haven't even finished the budget bills, and it's early October of an election year.

They're brazen, they're useless, and like Bush, they claim virtues they never had and attribute their own sins to their opponents.

It's projection, it's shamelessness, and it's open corruption.

Don't talk yourself out of pursuing this. Call your House member and Hastert and DeLay and tell them that DeLay is tainted and should resign. Besides, the leadership is obviously incompetent.

When are the American people going to wake up?

[seemslikeadream]

21. Dennis Hastert Regarding the EthicsCommittee Findings Regarding Tom DeLay

Statement of Speaker J. Dennis Hastert Regarding the Ethics Committee Findings Regarding Tom DeLay

10/7/2004 12:01:00 AM

To: National Desk

Contact: John Feehery of the Office of House Speaker Hastert, 202-225-2800

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert released the following statement on the Ethics Committee findings regarding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay:

"I want to commend the Members of the Ethics Committee for their hard work in reaching a conclusion in the Chris Bell complaint against Tom DeLay. The Ethics Committee made the right decision to dismiss two out of the three counts, and I am confident that they will reach the same conclusion in the final one.

"The Ethics Committee is comprised of good, responsible members of Congress. They are given the grave responsibility of protecting the reputation and the standards of this institution. They have done their best with their decision tonight under very difficult circumstances.

"Tom DeLay is a good man. He fights hard for what he believes, but he has never put personal interests ahead of the best interests of the country.

"When I first became Speaker, it was my hope that the days of the politicization of the ethics process were over.

"I am profoundly disappointed that the Ethics Committee has once again become a battleground for politics. I am troubled by the intimidation tactics of outside groups and organizations who have tried to influence the decision of those upstanding members of the Ethics Committee."
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=37656

[anarchy1999]

23. I can find only one work to express my feelings. OUTRAGE!!

Hastert, you are next.

If any of us here fail to keep this post up, if we fail to do the many things we've historically done to make a difference, I'll never get over it. There are too many of us here that are connected in too many ways to let this pass.

I'll see all of you in the morning, front and center. Man your stations, get ready now.

[Zhade]

35. HELL YES. I'm with you.

Gotta try something, these crooks must pay.

[K8-EEE]

24. On NPR They Played The Reporters Yelling At DeLay

to answer questions -- he just flat out LIED to them saying the charges were dropped, they were NOT NOT NOT dropped, then he wouldn't take any questions and the press was boiling mad FOR ONCE!!!

THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Dude...where's my country?

[Catherine Vincent]

22. There's got to be at least one republican out there that

would like Delay's leadership job.

[Tight_rope]

25. YES...Down he goes...They are playing it on the news over & over

here in Houston!.

[seemslikeadream]

26. Tom DeLay, Ethical Recidivist

Friday, October 8, 2004; Page A34

....

Then there's the indictment of three DeLay political aides on money-laundering charges involving efforts to steer corporate contributions into Texas state races; the ethics committee rightly postponed consideration of that matter. Meanwhile federal prosecutors and congressional committees are looking into the activities of two DeLay allies -- his former communications director, Michael Scanlon, and a lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, who parlayed their close ties to the majority leader into millions in fees from Indian tribes.

The ethics committee recognized a pattern in its extraordinary letter to the majority leader. "In view of the number of instances to date in which the Committee has found it necessary to comment on conduct in which you have engaged, it is clearly necessary for you to temper your future actions to assure that you are in full compliance at all times with the applicable House Rules and standards of conduct," it said.

In response to being admonished last week, Mr. DeLay said, "During my entire career I have worked to advance my party's legislative agenda." But as the committee noted, that's not an acceptable excuse; rather, it's evidence -- if more were needed -- that Mr. DeLay simply doesn't get it: "The fact that a violation results from the overaggressive pursuit of one's legislative agenda simply does not constitute a mitigating factor." Mr. DeLay's response to the latest rebuke -- blaming his troubles on Democrats' "relentless personal attacks" -- wasn't any more reassuring.

Some will grouse that the committee should have gone further and named an outside counsel to investigate Mr. DeLay, or at the very least opened a formal inquiry to determine whether his misconduct warrants more severe punishment. We think it's impressive that the five Republicans on the committee, led by Rep. Joel Hefley (Colo.), were willing to speak the truth in the face of Mr. DeLay's extraordinary power in the House. The letter to Mr. Delay from Mr. Hefley and his Democratic counterpart, Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (W.Va.), noted that it is "particularly important" that House leaders, because of their prominent position, adhere "scrupulously" to the requirement that they conduct themselves in a way that reflects creditably on the House. Does anyone looking at Mr. DeLay's record think he's lived up to this standard? And do Mr. DeLay's colleagues really want an ethical recidivist as their leader?

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16470-2004Oct7.html

[anarchy1999]

27. Fire up and ring Joel's number off the wall in the morning. Heck,

for all of you up late tonight fill his voice mail in box. This is not acceptable. Tom DeLay has to step down, or else.

[venus]

33. Watching the Dems news conference on c-span kick his butt.

Makes me feel good, although nothing will come of it.

[anarchy1999]

34. Well that's positive and welcome to DU. Now go make some calls

and just surprise yourself. All of us together just might make a difference this time. A sacrificial lamb so to say. Otherwise Venus, find another forum.

on edit:

There is one thing we do not need and that is more negativism or negativity. We all have enough and then some without new people who sign on. Join in the fray, but bring something positive to the table, okay. Just a late night random rant.

We've all been fighting DeLay for too long, especially here in Texas.

[Judi Lynn]

36. More on Delay from the Houston Chronicle:

Oct. 7, 2004, 11:55PM

Eyebrows raised by fund-raiser
Panel: DeLay's golf outing for energy executives looked improper
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
RESOURCES
• MEMO: E-mail regarding U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's participation in fundraiser.
Requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

AUSTIN - The U.S. House ethics committee's rebuke of Majority Leader Tom DeLay this week focused on an issue never raised publicly before: the appearance of impropriety created by an exclusive DeLay fund-raiser for energy executives held just before he served on a conference committee dealing with major energy legislation.

The ethics committee said the Sugar Land congressman gave the small group of executives direct access at the 2002 fund-raiser, a golf outing, and that a memo written by a former DeLay aide spelled out exactly what each of the executives attending the event wanted out of the energy legislation.

While there was no evidence DeLay took official action because of the event, the ethics investigators said the fund-raiser left the impression that beneficial action could be obtained with campaign contributions.

"At a minimum, his (DeLay's) conduct created at least the appearance that donors were being provided with special access to Representative DeLay regarding the then-pending energy legislation," the bipartisan committee said.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2836773

(Free registration required)


Uh oh!

[Judi Lynn]

37. More on Delay from the Dallas News: Democrats pounce on DeLay

Democrats pounce on DeLay

But GOP stands behind House majority leader despite 2nd ethics slap


10:44 PM CDT on Thursday, October 7, 2004
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT / The Dallas Morning News



WASHINGTON – The rhetorical punches flew fast and furious on Capitol Hill on Thursday, a day after the House's No. 2 leader, Texan Tom DeLay, was rebuked by the House ethics committee for questionable behavior.

Top House Democrats all but called for Republicans to dump Mr. DeLay from the leadership, noting that he has been admonished by the bipartisan ethics committee twice in the span of a week.

"Republicans must answer: Do they want an ethically unfit person to be their majority leader, or do they want to remove the ethical cloud that hangs over the Capitol?" asked House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

Republicans retorted that Democrats are training their sights on Mr. DeLay because they lack an agenda.

"We've been successful on the floor under the leadership of Tom DeLay," said Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. "So they just resorted to gutter politics and insisting that they try and tear down Tom DeLay."
(snip/...)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/100804dnnattomdelay.22e7b.html

[seemslikeadream]

39. "standing up and rebuking this notion of separation of church

William Pryor, President Bush's stealth appointment for the 11th circuit court of appeals said in a speech that the First Amendment does not mandate "a strict separation of church and state."

Tom DeLay, House Majority leader, speaking at a luncheon for Congressional staff in July, 2001 called the Faith Based Initiative a way of:

"standing up and rebuking this notion of separation of church and state that has been imposed upon us over the last 40 or 50 years."

DeLay's history is a bit confused. The principle was articulated by Roger Williams, founder of the settlement in Rhode Island, in the 1600s. The framers of the US Constitution adopted the principle. It has been upheld by every Supreme Court since 1879 - that is until the year 2002 when the court approved school vouchers. DeLay went on to say "You see, I don't believe there is a separation of church and state."

http://www.theocracywatch.org/separation_church_state2.htm