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The DeLay case in a nutshell
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Candidate
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Sep 29, 2005 05:44pm |
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| Category | Blog Entry |
| News Date | Thursday, September 29, 2005 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Posted 9:51 am | Printer Friendly
Part of the trouble with following Tom DeLay is that, unlike with most controversial politicians, there isn't just one scandal to watch. Upon learning that a scandal led to a DeLay indictment yesterday, a casual political observer might be tempted to ask, "Which scandal"?
It's a reasonable question; DeLay has been busy. Is this one about Jack Abramoff? Golf trips? Bribing a member of Congress?
Considering all that's happened, I thought it might be worthwhile to take a moment to offer a refresher on exactly what led to yesterday's criminal charge. Slate's Nicholas Thompson wrote a good summary earlier this year.
"In 2001, Tom DeLay helped to set up an organization called TRMPAC (Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee) aimed at helping the Texas GOP gain control of the state Legislature. His goal was to force a redistricting of Texas' congressional districts that would increase the Republican majority in Washington.
DeLay succeeded in sending five more Republicans to Congress. But his tactics created two problems. First, Texas has very strict laws forbidding the use of money raised from corporations in state races, and TRMPAC raised a lot of corporate money. Second, it made for one very shady deal. On Sept. 20, 2002, the director of TRMPAC sent $190,000, including money raised by corporations, to the Republican National State Elections Committee. Exactly two weeks later, that committee sent exactly $190,000 to state candidates favored by TRMPAC. Each transaction, taken alone, appears legal. Bundled together, they look like an effort to funnel corporate money into a race from which it was banned." |
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