Investigate Tom Delay

[iamladybug]

The Ethics Committee's deadline for making a decision whether to investigate the charges against Tom DeLay is next Monday,
September 20.

THIS WEEK, we can put pressure on the committee to appoint a special counsel and launch a full investigation by:

*writing LETTERS to newspapers

*calling, faxing, or emailing the ethics committee members.
Here's the list:
http://www.house.gov/ethics/CommitteeMembers.htm

Right now, no-one can police House members for illegal use of campaign funds EXCEPT this committee. It is vital they do their job to protect the integrity of our democracy. WE MUST CONVINCE THEM TO VOTE FOR A FULL INVESTIGATION AT THIER SEPT. 20, 2004 MEETING.

The complaint covers three areas:

1) DeLay's soliciting a bribe from Westar Energy in return for an amendment to the energy bill that would have resulted in millions of dollars in savings for the company;

2) DeLay's use of his PAC, Texans for a Republican Majority to launder corporate money, converting such funds into hard dollars that were donated directly to candidates for the Texas State
Legislature; and

3) DeLay's use of the Federal Aviation Administration to track down a plane carrying Texas legislators who had left the State to avoid voting on DeLay's partisan redistricting plan.

*******

Learn more about the ethics complaint at: http://bell.house.gov/HoR/TX25/Hidden+Content/Ethics+In ...

and at
http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/20040615 /

See Dems around the country calling for special counsel: http://www.takingontomdelay.com (Sept 10 article)

[CitySky]

1. Thanks!

I can see from your screen name that you have an interest in getting "The Exterminator" out of Congress. :D

Then again, so does anyone who prefers representative democracy to the "pay-to-play" system.

-Peace!

www.takingontomdelay.com

[Pallas180]

2. news article with detailed names of De Lay illegal contributions

Three Linked to DeLay Indicted in Texas Scandal

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?id=2004092118300002999752&dt=20040921183000&w=RTR&coview=

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Three men with close ties to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were indicted on Tuesday along with eight companies for illegal fund-raising activities in a political action committee formed by the powerful Texan. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle told reporters the investigation, not yet finished, had uncovered ominous behavior by the group. "What has emerged is the outline of an effort to use corporate contributions to control representative democracy in Texas," he said.

The grand jury in Austin has been looking into whether DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority, of TRMPAC, gave candidates money that came from corporate donors, which is illegal in Texas. Those indicted included former TRMPAC director John Colyandro, Washington-based fund-raiser Warren Robold and former DeLay aide Jim Ellis, who now heads Delay's national fund-raising group Americans for a Republican Majority. Ellis was indicted on one count of money laundering, Colyandro on 14 counts of money laundering and accepting unlawful political contributions, and Robold, 48, on nine counts of making and accepting unlawful political contributions. Ellis, 47, and Colyandro, 40, were accused of taking $190,000 in corporate donations and giving it to the Republican National State Elections Committee, which then gave like amounts to seven candidates for the Texas House of Representatives. Colyandro was accused of accepting a total of $450,000 in illegal contributions, and Robold $250,000.

(ON EDIT: IS THIS ELLIS RELATED TO THE BUSHES?- THE SAME ONE THAT WORKED FOR FOX NEWS AND ANNOUNCED DUMBYA WINNER IN 2000 ?)

Sears, Roebuck and Co., Oklahoma energy firm Williams Companies, restaurant chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, a unit of CBRL Group Inc., booze maker Bacardi USA and electric utility Westar Energy Inc. were the best known of the eight companies indicted for making illegal contributions that ranged up to $100,000 to TRMPAC.
The others included Questerra Corp. a unit of Meadwestvaco Corp., Diversified Collection Services Inc. and Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care Corp.


TRMPAC was a big contributor to Republican candidates to the Texas legislature in 2002 and helped elect the first Republican majority in that body since the Civil War. The U.S. House ethics committee is currently considering whether to investigate DeLay for a complaint filed by U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, a Democrat from Houston. Some of Bell's charges track those under investigation in Texas, including that DeLay used a political action committee to launder illegal contributions.


DeLay denied any wrongdoing and charged Bell took the action because the first-term Democrat blamed him for his defeat in a 2004 Democratic primary.