Wednesday, September 22, 2004
DeLay's boys get a perp walk
The Austin American Statesman newspaper (registration required) is reporting that a Texas grand jury has indicted three consultants with Texans for a Republican Majority (Tom DeLay's PAC) and at least seven corporate donors.
Indicted were John Colyandro, executive director of the political action committee; Warren Robold, a Washington, D.C., fund-raiser; and Jim Ellis a key aide to DeLay, according to Austin attorney Steve Brittain, who is a lawyer for DeLay.
Indicted corporations include:
One count each:
Sears Roebuck & Co.
Barcardi USA Inc.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.
Diversified Collection Services Inc.
Questerra Corporation
Williams Companies, Inc.
Westar Energy Inc.
Alliance for Qualilty Nursing Home Care, Inc.
Defense attorneys said Colyandro and Robold were charged with about a dozen felonies each; Ellis was indicted on one count. It was not yet known what the charges were.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle was not available for comment yet, and the indictments were still being processed.
The indictments were the result of almost two years of investigation.
Following the Republican sweep of the 2002 elections, Earle began investigating allegations that Republicans and their business allies used unprecedented amounts of corporate cash to affect the elections.
State law generally prohibits using corporate or labor union money for political purposes except to pay for the administrative expenses of a political action committee.
Texans for a Republican Majority spent $1.5 million during the election, including $600,000 of corporate money that was spent on consultants, pollsters and phone banks. But lawyers for the political action committee argued that the money was spent for the benefit of the committee and not directly on behalf of candidates.
The Texas Association of Business has fought for almost two years not to identify corporate donors who financed its efforts to elect a Republican majority. Its lawyers argued that the mail pieces in question are issue ads protected by the First Amendment and should not be regulated by the state election laws.
All of this comes on the heels of DeLay and House Republicans trying to stall an ethics investigation against DeLay in the House Ethics Committee.
Things aren't looking so great for The Hammer.
To help it get worse, give some money to Richard Morrisson, his opponent.
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Indicted were John Colyandro, executive director of the political action committee; Warren Robold, a Washington, D.C., fund-raiser; and Jim Ellis a key aide to DeLay, according to Austin attorney Steve Brittain, who is a lawyer for DeLay.
Indicted corporations include:
One count each:
Sears Roebuck & Co.
Barcardi USA Inc.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.
Diversified Collection Services Inc.
Questerra Corporation
Williams Companies, Inc.
Westar Energy Inc.
Alliance for Qualilty Nursing Home Care, Inc.
Defense attorneys said Colyandro and Robold were charged with about a dozen felonies each; Ellis was indicted on one count. It was not yet known what the charges were.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle was not available for comment yet, and the indictments were still being processed.
The indictments were the result of almost two years of investigation.
Following the Republican sweep of the 2002 elections, Earle began investigating allegations that Republicans and their business allies used unprecedented amounts of corporate cash to affect the elections.
State law generally prohibits using corporate or labor union money for political purposes except to pay for the administrative expenses of a political action committee.
Texans for a Republican Majority spent $1.5 million during the election, including $600,000 of corporate money that was spent on consultants, pollsters and phone banks. But lawyers for the political action committee argued that the money was spent for the benefit of the committee and not directly on behalf of candidates.
The Texas Association of Business has fought for almost two years not to identify corporate donors who financed its efforts to elect a Republican majority. Its lawyers argued that the mail pieces in question are issue ads protected by the First Amendment and should not be regulated by the state election laws.
All of this comes on the heels of DeLay and House Republicans trying to stall an ethics investigation against DeLay in the House Ethics Committee.
Things aren't looking so great for The Hammer.
To help it get worse, give some money to Richard Morrisson, his opponent.
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