POLITICS: House Majority Leader Tom Delay Indicted

CNN has just reported that Tom Delay has been indicted in Travis County, Texas, on one count of Criminal Conspiracy.



The question now is whether Delay will step down as majority leader in the House. CNN (TV) reports it could take up to a year before the indictment is either thrown out or proceeded with.

There is still a question as to whether he will have to be charged in his home county.

Developing story.

[edit on 28-9-2005 by Nerdling]

[edit on 1-10-2005 by Nerdling]

Tom Delay quoted by CNN as stating:

"I have notified the speaker (Dennis Hastert) that I will temporarily step aside as majority leader until the outcome of the Travis County indictment is decided."

I may have gotten a detail incorrect ... but The Hammer is stepping aside.

Apparently this a count is a felony with the prospect of jail time if he is found guilty.

I'm sorry but I just don't feel sorry for The Bugman. He is one of my least favourite GOP pols. I have always felt from all I have read about this case that Mr. Delay did in fact solicit and obtain corporate funds for the Texas GOP which is what the grand jury investigation has been about.

[Edited quote for improved accuracy]



[edit on 2005/9/28 by Zadeh Redux]

AP is reporting that Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) is expected to at least temporarily succeed House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) as majority leader, following DeLay's indictment.

RAW STORY revealed Dreier was gay and lived with his chief of staff last year. LA Weekly then outed him, and he promptly disappeared from the television news show circuit. Our story, which originally ran Sept. 20, 2004, follows in full.

#
A Republican congressman from California who has repeatedly voted against gay rights measures is said to be gay himself, and at least three MediaNews Group newspapers are said to have instructed its reporters not to ask questions about the congressman's sexuality or how it relates to public policy.

Raw Story

This should get mighty interesting.

us.cnn.com...

Rep. Tom DeLay says he will step aside as House majority leader following his indictment by a Texas grand jury on conspiracy charges. DeLay attorney Steve Brittain says DeLay was accused of a criminal conspiracy along with two associates. DeLay has denied committing any crime. Earlier, another DeLay attorney Bill White told reporters, "It's a skunky indictment."

Re Delay's replacement as Majority Leader: Dreier and Delay are both coming from the same place ... The Association of Blatant Hypocricy.

This is indeed going to be a wonderful political soap opera, albeit a spin-off/spin-on ... spin-off/spin-on ... lol ... staring The Karoake Kid and The Loan Arranger. The first episode will feature The Loan Arranger doing his laundry while The Karoake Kid lip-thyncs from the TLA's thong book.

It's about time...I wonder what the delay was? !!! Even if the man is actually innocent, which I doubt, his insufferable arrogance brought it on...you don't strut around like he does unless you think you are invincible and can do no wrong, which of course tends to lead to wrong doing. The DA who is going after him will once again be trashed by the right wing static machine but he has an excellent record and has actually gone after and indicted more Democrats (he's a Democrat himself) than Republicans. Arrogance and hubris always sows the seeds of its own destruction.

So now we have...

DeLay: Indicted
Frist: Naughty trading
Rove: Plame
Hastert: Terrified of Illinois redistricting
Santorum: Screwed on many dimensions
Cheney: One foot in the grave

It really is a Grand Old Party.

Just not for the Republican leadership.

years ago a co-worker asked me what the GOP stood for....I replied that it stood for Grumpy Old Politicans , but then it could also read Greedy Obnoxious Politicans. lol:. I eventually told him what it really meant.

This story is linked to Jack Abramoff who was recently himslef indicted. And now, in relation to the indictment Abramoff got, three other people with ties to the mafia have been indicted in the gangland-style slaying of millionaire Gus Boulis.

Mob hits, political payoffs, casinos...sounds like the makings of a Scorsese film.

www.foxnews.com...

Tom DeLay Indicted
AP
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay Says he will step down as House majority leaderTexas Republican, two political associates charged with conspiracy in campaign finance scheme; House Speaker Dennis Hastert to recommend Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., as replacement.

Very, very quiet over at Fauxnews. This all they have posted right now. I can see it now. Scene: Sean Hannity meets Bill O'Reilly in the Boys room ...

"Gee whiz, Mr. O'Reilly, you smell real bad. Want some of my wet wipes?"

"No, Baby Jesus, I mean, Sean give them to Cavuto ... Brit gave me his."

*******
Maybe, just maybe, Karl will overload and spaz out like a wounded replicant on sensory overload.

Originally posted by Nerdling
So now we have...

DeLay: Indicted
Frist: Naughty trading
Rove: Plame
Hastert: Terrified of Illinois redistricting
Santorum: Screwed on many dimensions
Cheney: One foot in the grave

It really is a Grand Old Party.

Just not for the Republican leadership.

Nicely Done Nerdling! Now I just need for Rush Limbaugh to get Syphilus or Leprosy of the genitalia and I am all set!



Also, Michael Tsarion says there is a major scandal coming next year surrounding Shrub. Fingers crossed!

ahhh....I love a good conspiracy, and this one could be one of the finest in history!! I do hope that that "ultra liberal" press covers it well!!!

wonder how much of it they will cover???

www.houseofscandal.org...

after reading that, and well, hearing what some of my elected representives have publicly said, I can't help but wonder just how much of the "we are the majority, life the way we say or else" bit is more just the result of the illegal shannagans of DeLay and his buddies!

If they find this guy guilty, I hope they hang him and his buddies, all involved, all the way to the top office.
and while their at it, any personal gain any of them have gotten thru their ventures can be taken back, and used to reduce that god-aweful budget deficit that they've run up with their political games!

This is such a scam indictment! I'm sure a judge will throw it out of court as soon as it gets there, just like what happened when the same prosecutor went after Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

I'm no fan of politically charged criminal cases, much less the attendant media circus and partisan rhetoric wars, but I stand with Mark Twain in the conviction that "I believe facts and figures would reveal that there is no inherently criminal class, except for congress." When there is that much money and influence at stake, there is always a high probability that the white collar criminal element will be front and center looking for their share. So, go ahead and send him to jail for all I care- I don't like party men, especially whips, especially whips who revel in being called "the hammer". Let's just hope that somebody will find a severed finger in their chili, or that a southern girl will disappear before her wedding, or whatever sort of pointless story it is that the media mistakenly thinks I give a rip about, so that the media won't go into overdrive partisan spin mode and annoy the bloody hell out of me with non-stop coverage of this.

When this farce is shown to be false you can bet your biffy DA Ronnie Earle's democratic political career will be over.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
This is such a scam indictment! I'm sure a judge will throw it out of court as soon as it gets there, just like what happened when the same prosecutor went after Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

I applaud your Dayside FoxNews talking points. You forgot to add that he once indicted himself too.

Now can you expand on this scam indictment? Can you tell me *why* it's a scam?

Originally posted by Nerdling
Can you tell me *why* it's a scam?

Because it's obviously a politically motivated ploy and he didn't do anything wrong.

www.dailykos.com...

real good political record there, wouldn't ya said....his main accomplishment must be that he has persuaded his party not to kick him out of it for blowing away so many of his fellow dems!!

besides, as far as I know, it was the grand jury that passed down the indictment, which usually consists of more than one person, which means that a group of people were presented with enough evidence to persue it. guess maybe they are all dems?

actually, if he isn't guilty, this would probably be one of the best things that could happen. it might clear up a few things and change public opinion in his favor, because many of us have read so much crap about him, well, if it's all true, he's just not guilty of conspiracy in my book, he's guilty of treason!

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by Nerdling
Can you tell me *why* it's a scam?

Because it's obviously a politically motivated ploy and he didn't do anything wrong.

Well said Rush. :-) j/k. Is that comment loaded with sarcasim? It sounds like it MIGHT be but I can't tell for sure. It should be my new campaign sloagan. Just say yes to sarcasim. lol Seriously though. I can't tell if you are serious or just playing.

I'm dead serious. Anyone who can't see this is just a political witch hunt is blind.

It's usually quite easy to get an indictment out of a grand jury, but in this case the D.A. went through six grand juries before he was able to find one that would indict him on anything, and in the end it was just one count of the least serious charge he was seeking. This guy is a serious Democrat partisan using his position for politcal reasons, he even mentioned his going after Delay at a Dem political fundraiser as a rallying cry. It's disgusting, it's this D.A. who belongs indicted for crimes.

This is just too much.

Apparently it takes two representatives to fill The Hammer's shoes.

Just announced that Roy Blunt and Dave Dreier will be co-leaders. Hmmmm .... naw ... I ain't goin' there.