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 on the DeLay-founded Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee, which raised corporate money to help Republicans take control of the Texas House for the first time since Reconstruction. TRMPAC chief John Colyandro, fund-raiser Warren RoBold and DeLay political director Jim Ellis were the DeLay aides that were indicted. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who is a Democrat, said the investigation continues into possible campaign-finance violations by TRMPAC, the Texas Association of Business and the election of GOP Texas Speaker Tom Craddick of Midland. This was the third grand jury to hear the investigation and Earle disclosed the investigation will continue when a new grand jury is impaneled in October. He would not say whether DeLay is a target of the investigation.
TRMPAC raised almost $600,000 from corporations, which usually contributed at fund-raisers in which DeLay was the featured guest. The money was used to pay for additional fund-raising and political activity to help Republican candidates win about 20 House seats. Texas Ethics Commission opinions have said corporate money can be used only to pay a political committee’s basic expenses, such as rent and utilities. However, TRMPAC supporters contend that the state law is trumped by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and applicable federal law at the time.