Finally, another Republican, state-based scandal to go along with my governor's recent convictions.

quote:

Originally posted by Q5echo cool. let's make this real clear. DeLay will return as the House Maj. Leader once exonerated by the Grand Jury of the one charge of conspiracy as set forth on the indictment. correct? otherwise, he will face trial and i will leave said forum for 10 calender days. you can call or raise me more days. up to you.

nooooo

if you leave threads wont make half a page it'll take the debate out of PDD. we need the other side here or everyone will just be agreeing with each other.

i say the loser has to post in big text "I WAS WRONG". dont see that too often around here

quote:

Originally posted by josh4 nooooo if you leave threads wont make half a page it'll take the debate out of PDD. we need the other side here or everyone will just be agreeing with each other. i say the loser has to post in big text "I WAS WRONG". dont see that too often around here

i don't quite follow you.
side bet? cool. whatever. you in or out?

quote:

Hammer Time September 29, 2005; Page A18 Texas retribution went national yesterday with the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay by Travis County (Austin) prosecutor Ronnie Earle. We've been critical of Mr. DeLay, but anyone who knows the history of Mr. Earle will not be rushing to judgment on this one. [Tom DeLay] Not that the truth or falsity of the charges matters in immediate political terms. Mr. DeLay was obliged to "temporarily step aside" from his leadership post yesterday, even as he declared that "I am innocent" and that the charges were brought by an "unabashed partisan zealot." His resignation deals another blow to a GOP Congress already suffering from a lack of ideological direction. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi quickly pounced to declare this "the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued with a culture of corruption." Mr. Earle understood he could get his man merely by charging him. Who knows what a jury will decide, but the four-page indictment isn't much to go on. Mr. DeLay is accused with two associates of using corporate money to fund state legislative campaigns in violation of Texas campaign-finance laws. The indictment includes a copy of a check that it claims was money laundered through a political action committee. But the charge is for conspiracy, which because of its vagueness can be the easiest indictment to bring but the most difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Mr. Earle had indicted three other DeLay associates in the same case in September 2004, just six weeks before the last election. Followers of the case have speculated that, as he saw his legal bills mount, one of those three may have decided to testify against Mr. DeLay. The Majority Leader also deserves the presumption of innocence because of Mr. Earle's guilty past. A liberal Democrat, he has a history of indicting political enemies, Democrat and Republican, on flimsy evidence that didn't hold up in court. In the mid-1980s, he indicted Attorney General Jim Mattox, a rival of his ally Ann Richards, on bribery charges. Mr. Mattox was acquitted and won re-election. In 1993, he indicted Kay Bailey Hutchison, who'd just been elected to the U.S. Senate, on charges of misconduct and records tampering. Mr. Earle was forced to drop the case even before it went to trial. Earlier this year, the prosecutor delivered a widely criticized speech at a Democratic fund-raiser in which he compared his prosecutorial targets to "Mussolini and his fascists" and all but declared that he had Mr. DeLay in his sights. As for political motive, Mr. DeLay has earned the wrath of Democrats by beating them time and again at their own game. His re-redistricting of the Texas Congressional delegation before the 2004 election helped turn six House seats over to the GOP. Without his prodding, the House would never have voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998. And his fund-raising and arm-twisting have kept the GOP House majority both unified and re-elected for a decade. Democrats have learned from Newt Gingrich's rise to power that they can use ethics as a political weapon. And it's working, in so far as the Majority Leader's obvious preoccupation with his various ethics problems explains the Congressional GOP's aimlessness this year. Even before yesterday, Mr. DeLay was seriously weakened as a political force. And for that he has himself partly to blame. Our disagreement with the Majority Leader is that, as the GOP cemented itself in power, he let incumbency become more important than the principles that elected him in the first place. Mr. DeLay browbeat his colleagues -- and kept the vote open for three hours -- to pass a giant new Medicare entitlement that will bedevil taxpayers and Republicans for decades. Only two weeks ago, he declared that the GOP had cut everything from the federal Leviathan that it possibly could; a week later he was back-tracking under pressure from his own supporters. His worst ethics problems -- at least until yesterday -- had developed because he stood by as former aides and cronies made themselves rich as influence peddlers by invoking his name. As a Republican who came to power after Democrat Jim Wright's fall as Speaker, Mr. DeLay had to know he too could become an ethics target. He made himself vulnerable nonetheless. Republicans are speaking up for him, in part because they know Mr. Earle's record. But yesterday they also elected Missouri's Roy Blunt as their new Majority Leader, and Mr. DeLay is unlikely ever to be the same fund-raising resource for GOP Members. The bitter irony is that his ethics problems now jeopardize the GOP majority he did so much to build.

The thing about Delay is first off, he had a meeting with Earle and the Public Integrity unit of the Travis County DA's office on Aug. 17. That is more than three years after most of the events surrounding the money laundering operation would have taken place and thus, the statute of limitations would have already run out on the conspiracy charge.

Second, something kinda interesting here in the indictment papers:

quote:

"The Grand Jury further presents that, with the advise and consent of counsel, the defendent, Thomas Dale DeLay, did heretofore knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive application of Articles 12.01 and 12.02 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure to the indictment presented herein. In particular, the Grand Jury present that with the advice and consent of counsel, the defendent, Thomas Dale DeLay, did knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive the requirement that an indictment for the felony offense of criminal conspiracy, the object of which is felony other than those listed in Subdivisions (1) and (5) of Article 12.01 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, may be presented within three years from the date of commission of the offense, and not afterward, insofar as such requirement pertains to the indictment presented herein,"

Now why would his attorney advise him to waive the statute of limitations on a charge when the statute of limitations had already run out? The only logical answer is that there were far more serious charges with a much longer (or no) statute of limitations and he was entering into a plea bargain. Anyone possibly speculate an alternative?

Regardless, the abuse of power in the GOP government control goes far beyond Delay. The "13 most corrupt in Congress":

quote:

• Sen. Bill Frist: The report accuses him of violating federal campaign finance laws in how he disclosed a campaign loan. It also calls for an inquiry over his recent sale of stock in HCA Inc., his family's hospital corporation. The sale has raised questions about possible insider dealing. Frist aides confirmed Friday that the SEC was investigating. They have denied claims of campaign finance violations. • Rep. Roy Blunt: The report criticizes him for trying to insert provisions into bills that would have benefited, in one case, a client of his lobbyist son and in another case, the employer of his lobbyist girlfriend, now his wife. • Sen. Conrad Burns: The report says that questions arose over $3 million in appropriations he earmarked for an Indian tribe in Michigan that was a client of lobbyist Abramoff. The senator received substantial campaign contributions from Abramoff and various clients. "Sen. Burns did nothing wrong, and any accusation to the contrary is pure politics," said James Pendleton, his director of communications. He said Burns had earmarked the appropriation at the request of the Michigan congressional delegation. • Rep. Bob Ney: The report says the chairman of the House Administration Committee went on a golf outing to Scotland in 2002, arranged by Abramoff, at a time when the congressman was trying to insert a provision into legislation to benefit one of Abramoff's tribal clients. Ney reported to the House that the trip was paid for entirely by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, which denied paying any of the costs. Ney has said he had been duped by Abramoff. • Rep. Tom Feeney: The report says he incorrectly reported that a golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff in 2003 was paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research, which denied it. A Feeney aide said the congressman had been misled. Questions also have arisen about two other privately funded trips. • Rep. Richard W. Pombo: He paid his wife and brother $357,325 in campaign funds in the last four years, the report says. He also supported the wind-power industry before the Department of Interior without disclosing that his parents received hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from wind-power turbines on their ranch. Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for Pombo, said that "each of the charges is baseless." He called the watchdog group "a Democratic attack group, and all of their charges should be taken with a grain of salt." • Rep. Maxine Waters: The report cites a December 2004 Los Angeles Times investigation disclosing how members of the congresswoman's family have made more than $1 million in the last eight years by doing business with companies, candidates and causes that Waters has helped. Before publication of the Times investigation last year, Waters declined to be interviewed, but said of her family members: "They do their business, and I do mine." • Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.): The report says he encountered controversy over disclosures that Pennsylvania taxpayers paid for his children's schooling while they lived in Virginia. Santorum maintained he did nothing wrong, and has pulled his children out of the school, according to reports. • Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and William J. Jefferson: Both congressional veterans are under federal investigation. Cunningham, who has announced that he will not run for reelection, faces questions over his dealings with a defense contractor who allegedly overpaid him when he purchased Cunningham's house. Jefferson is under scrutiny for his role in an overseas business deal. Normally the House ethics committee does not hold inquiries while criminal investigations are underway. • Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.): The report says that questions have been raised about his private business interests, including a savings and loan in Asheville, N.C., and personal business interests in Russia. • Rep. Marilyn N. Musgrave (R-Colo.) and Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.): Both second-term House members encountered criticisms tied to campaign activities, the report says. Musgrave was accused of misusing her congressional office for campaign purposes. Renzi was accused of financing portions of his 2002 campaign with improper loans. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...la-story-footer

More on Blunt who replaced Delay, and who happens to be a bit in cahoots with Delay:

quote:

The political committee of Rep. Roy Blunt, who is temporarily replacing Rep. Tom DeLay as House majority leader, has paid roughly $88,000 in fees since 2003 to a consultant under indictment in Texas with DeLay, according to federal records. Keri Ann Hayes, executive director of the Rely on Your Beliefs Fund, said the organization has been has been satisfied with the work done by Jim Ellis, but has not discussed whether he will be retained. "We haven't had that conversation," she said. So far, she added, Ellis' indictment had no impact on his work. http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sa.../printstory.jsp

And some more:

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*Tried to slip pro-Big Tobacco provision into a Homeland Security bill (!) - while he was sleeping with a Philip Morris (aka Altria) lobbyist. *Hurt the war effort by passing legislation that reduced competition by limiting military cargo shipments to certain companies such as UPS and FedEx - while his son Andrew was (you guessed it) a lobbyist for UPS. *Funnelled $76,000 to his son Matt's gubernatorial campaign in Missouri by laundering it through a bunch of various campaign committees - while Altria also tossed $24,000 to Matt's campaign, and $100,000 to one of those middle-man committees. *PAC took money from top GOP arrested scum-bag-man Jack Abramoff, to the tune of $8,500. It's all about the company you keep, ay? *Took a trip to Korea in 2002 paid for by a registered foreign agent -which is against House rules. http://www.citizensforethics.org/pr...ase.php?view=84

Power begats more power, and the house of cards eventually tumbles down. You GOPers really shoulda paid attention to the Democratic majority corruption problems in the 70's and 80's, which eventually led to the overtaking by the GOP.

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

It just ain't a pretty picture for the boys in power right now:

quote:

The indictment sent a shock wave through the GOP establishment, which is already reeling from a swath of criminal and ethics investigations. Three individuals, eight corporations and two political action committees connected to DeLay have been indicted as a result of the probe. In addition, the government's top procurement official, David Safavian, was arrested in September for obstructing a criminal investigation into über-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a close DeLay ally. Abramoff himself is under criminal investigation for defrauding Indian tribes and was indicted for wire fraud in Florida in a separate case. Top White House aides, including Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, have been targeted by a special prosecutor investigating the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Representative Duke Cunningham announced he would not run for re-election after overselling his house for $700,000 to a military industry lobbyist; he too has been indicted. FDA chief Lester Crawford resigned unexpectedly after just two months on the job, possibly because of failure to report his wife's sizable pharmaceutical-industry holdings. And DeLay's Senate counterpart, Bill Frist, is battling possible insider-trading charges for dumping millions in HCA stock, a company founded by his father and run by his brother, weeks before it plunged in value. The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into Frist and HCA in September. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005...ain889472.shtml

Well, check that, it's fucking beautiful to me, but maybe not so much for them.....

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

From an interview with a journalist from the Ft. Worth paper on Countdown last night, Mr. Earle has indicted more Democrats in his time than republicans, something like 2:1. The people he goes after are the ones in power, and thus, the ones who do the most damage by being corrupt.

Look it up, I am too lazy to.

But this "partisan withchunt" theory doesn't seem to hold much water for me.


MrS

___________________
Click the sig to see MrSquirrel

-"Reality" is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes.

Things are perhaps about to get pretty interesting...

For those who don't know, Judeth Miller is a NY Times reporter who has chosen to go to jail rather than give up the name of the "leaker" in the Bush Administration who outed a covert CIA agent.




http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/12775934.htm

quote:

NY Times reporter Judith Miller released from jail WASHINGTON - Judith Miller, The New York Times reporter who has been jailed since July 6 for refusing to identify a source, has been released, The Inquirer has learned. Miller left an Alexandria, Va. jail late this afternoon, a jail official said. She was released after she had a telephone conversation with the Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, sources said. In that conversation, Libby reaffirmed that he had released Miller from a promise of confidentiality more than a year ago, sources said. The special prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, has sought to compel Miller to reveal her source to a grand jury investigating whether Bush administration officials leaked the name of a CIA covert officer, Valerie Plame. It could be immediately determined whether Miller has now agreed to testify. Since July, Miller had been held in suburban Virginia at the Alexandria Detention Center. According to The Washington Post, her visitors included former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, U.N. ambassador John R. Bolton and former senator Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.).

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http://www.discoboomer.com/forums/

quote:

Originally posted by tribu Finally, another Republican, state-based scandal to go along with my governor's recent convictions.

Let me guess. Gov. Taft of Ohio! Am I right?

According to ABC news (on tv just now), Delay was indicted again today, this time for money laundering.

MrS

___________________
Click the sig to see MrSquirrel

-"Reality" is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes.

quote:

Former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) met for at least 30 minutes with the top fundraiser of his Texas political action committee on Oct. 2, 2002, the same day that the Republican National Committee in Washington set in motion a series of financial transactions at the heart of the money-laundering and conspiracy case against DeLay. During the meeting at his Capitol office, DeLay conferred with James W. Ellis, the head of his principal fundraising committee in Washington and his chief fundraiser in Texas. Ellis had earlier given the Republican National Committee a check for $190,000 drawn mostly from corporate contributions. The same day as the meeting, the RNC ordered $190,000 worth of checks sent to seven Republican legislative candidates in Texas. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...5100601903.html

As one blogger opines, they didn't even bother to fucking hide their actions. This is a direct connection from Delay's TRMPAC being the middleman between corporate donations and money going directly into the RNC, which in turn turned around and cut a check to those candidates that won in the redrawn Texas district.

He's so fucking toast. Weak case my ass you pompous prick. Money laundering, pretty cut and dry.

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...