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Westar Energy convictions are overturned
In this scathing 43-page decision, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside the convictions of former Westar Energy executives David Wittig and Douglas Lake on every count and ruled that most of the counts could not be retried....
The indiscriminate Hammer
Ben Witherington is a noted New Testament scholar at Asbury Theological Institute in Wilmore, Kentucky near Lexington, which is not the typical place that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay would normally have been trolling for money during his heyday...
"Could adversely effect public safety?"
The legal and political maneuvering in regard to former Houston Congressman and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is hard to keep up with, so I rely on Kuff and others to keep me informed of what's going on in that...
In a split decision, the winner is the Texas GOP. For now.
The Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision yesterday (earlier posts here) ordering congressional districts in south Texas redrawn because a 2003 redistricting map orchestrated by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was designed to disenfranchise Hispanic voters so that vulnerable...
An inside perspective on DeLay's fall
This Sunday Washington Post op-ed by John Feehery, Tom DeLay's former Communications Director, provides an interesting perspective on DeLay's fall -- that DeLay's strength of being willing to delegate was offset by his attraction to those who were willing to...
Former Westar executives sentenced
Although overshadowed by the Lay-Skilling trial, former Westar Energy, Inc. CEO David Wittig and his corporate right hand man Douglas Lake were sentenced yesterday to 18 and 15 years in prison after being convicted last year of looting the utility...
DeLay is done
This NY Times article and this WaPo article are reporting that Houston Congressman and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will announce today that he is leaving Congress and pulling out of his ongoing re-election bid. Earlier posts on DeLay's...
SCOTUS agrees to consider Texas redistricting cases
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review the controversial 2003 redrawing of Texas congressional districts that Democratic Party officials claim was unconstitutional because it disenfranchised Democratic voters and was improperly designed primarily to ensure the Republican Party's control of...
Disassembling the case against DeLay
This earlier post noted the weak nature of the indictment against former House Speaker Tom DeLay, although the Republican outrage over the indictment rings somewhat hollow. But following up on the thought about the dubious basis of the indictment, former...
Rationalizing a bad system
Being independent politically, I tend to look for political issues where the right position is so clear that advocacy of the opposing view is an indication of a politician who is interested in something other than improving government. This Chronicle...
More on criminalizing risk-taking
Robert Weisberg is Edwin E. Huddleson, Jr. Professor of Law and director of the Criminal Justice Center at Stanford University, where he teaches a course on white collar crime with David Mills, who is a senior lecturer there. In this...
The real Republican deficit
Following on a theme addressed in this earlier post from last fall, this timely OpinionJournal op-ed points out that the real problem to the Republican Party represented by Tom DeLay is not his dubious ethics, but that he is devoid...
The hypocrisy of Republican outrage over the DeLay prosecution
In reading the various Republican statements (see here and here) alleging that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is engaging in an outlandish abuse of power in regard to his decision to indict House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a thought...
The Hammer's indictment
In one of the least surprising developments in Texas politics over the past couple of years, a Travis County (Austin area) grand jury on Wednesday charged Houston Congressman and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and two political associates -- John...
More trouble for DeLay friend?
This NY Times article reports that the Justice Department's inspector general and the F.B.I. are looking into the November, 2002 demotion of Frederick A. Black, a veteran federal prosecutor whose reassignment shut down a criminal investigation that he had been...
Tom DeLay said what?
This Washington Times article refers to House Majority Leager Tom DeLay's recent comments regarding the Bush Administration's record on government spending: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared...
Abramoff indicted
Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist who is a top Republican fund-raiser and political ally of Houston congressman and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, was indicted yesterday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on charges of defrauding two lenders in his purchase of a...
The Chronicle makes a point about DeLay that it failed to make about Enron
A good, old-fashioned snit between Texas political opponents gave the Houston Chronicle an opportunity this week to make a good point about the rule of law and the integrity of governmental investigations. But in so doing, the Chronicle highlighted its...
Ron Chernow on the independent judiciary
Ron Chernow -- the author of The House of Morgan (1990), The Warburgs (1994), Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1998), and last year's marvelous Alexander Hamilton (2004) -- writes this interesting NY Times op-ed in which he...
"The D.A. and Tom DeLay"
That's the name of a segment on "60 Minutes" this evening, according to this Washington Post article, which examines the ongoing criminal investigation in Austin over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's involvement in various campaign finance violations. Here are the...
New ethics complaint involving DeLay?
Gosh, this is getting monotonous. This Raw Story article reports that the National Journal is prepared to report that prominent lawyer and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who federal authorities are investigating for his lobbying efforts on behalf of an Indian...
Hammering the Hammer
Earlier this week, House Republicans reversed course and rejected dubious Ethics rules changes that were proposed late last year that would have allowed members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership post. Earlier posts on the rules...
Mistrial declared in trial of former Westar CEO
Although overshadowed by the Enron-related criminal cases, the business fraud criminal trial of former Westar Energy, Inc. CEO David Wittig and his right hand man has been making quite a bit of news over the past few months in Kansas....
DeLay delivers for NASA
This Washington Post article reports on how Houston congressman and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay secured NASA's $16.2 billion portion of the $388 federal omnibus spending bill that Congress passed on November 20: NASA was identified as a major sticking...
GOP Doublespeak
Professor Bainbridge continues to do a good job of criticizing the Republican Party for its rather shameless lack of leadership in its indulgence of House Minority Leader Tom DeLay that was the subject of this earlier post. What is most...
More on playing both sides off against the middle in Washington
This Washington Post article follows up on this earlier post regarding Congressional hearings over Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public relations consultant Michael Scanlon's shenanigans in 2002 involving the Tigua Indian Tribe's casino in El Paso. Playing both sides off...
Cancer in the House
Jamie Malanowski, a New York-based writer, pens this Washington Monthly op-ed on Houston congressman Tom DeLay and provides the following overview to a discussion of the various ethics complaints and criminal investigations that are currently dogging Mr. DeLay: Tom DeLay...
Scandal in the House of Representatives
This Washington Post editorial examines the scandal that is the self-perpetuating nature of the House of Representatives: Out of 435 House races, incumbents lost only seven -- an even more impressive survival rate than that of two years ago, when...
DeLay's bid to buy the Texas Legislature
Lou Dubose -- co-author of The Hammer: Tom DeLay, God, Money, and the Rise of the Republican Congress (Public Affairs 2004) and Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (Vintage 2000) -- pens this LA Weekly...
Three DeLay aides indicted in Austin
A Travis County, Texas grand jury indicted three people closely linked to Houston-based U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay Tuesday along on charges of illegally using corporate money to help Republican Texas House candidates during the 2002. The indictments focused...
DeLay records subpoenaed
As noted in earlier posts here and here, a political action committee — Texans for a Republican Majority — that House majority leader Tom DeLay of Houston created is the subject of a grand jury investigation in Austin. Yesterday, the...
Austin grand jury subpoenas House speaker's campaign contribution records
As noted in an earlier post, a political action committee — Texans for a Republican Majority — that House majority leader Tom DeLay of Houston created is the subject of a grand jury investigation in Austin. Yesterday, the Chronicle and...
DeLay created PAC under investigation
The NY Times reports that a political action committee — Texans for a Republican Majority — that House majority leader Tom DeLay of Houston created is the subject of a grand jury investigation in Austin. The investigation follows a complaint...
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