Tag Archives: TRMPAC

DeLay gets off

Sure is nice to have friends in high places. Siding with a decision made a year ago by a lower appeals court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday refused to reinstate money-laundering convictions against former U.S. House Majority … Continue reading

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DeLay gets his day before the CCA

Looks like he might have had a pretty good day, too. Oral arguments in Tom DeLay’s decadelong legal fight with the Travis County District Attorney’s office heated up Wednesday as Republican judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals questioned … Continue reading

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Today’s the day for Tom DeLay at the CCA

Apologies for the excessive alliteration. I got on a roll and couldn’t stop. DeLay’s appellate lawyer, Brian Wice of Houston, and Travis County prosecutor Holly Taylor will argue Wednesday before the state’s highest criminal court in Austin over whether the … Continue reading

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TPJ files amicus brief in DeLay appeal

It’s almost time for Tom DeLay to go to court again. A government-watchdog group on Tuesday petitioned the state’s highest criminal court to reinstate the money-laundering and conspiracy convictions of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay, moving to join … Continue reading

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Can you believe it’s been ten years?

Ten years (and one week) ago, four defeated Democratic candidates for the State House filed a lawsuit against the Texas Association of Business, claiming that TAB funneled illegal corporate contributions into state legislative races in the 2002 election. As you … Continue reading

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Colyandro takes a plea

Missed this on Friday. It took five minutes for Capitol figure John Colyandro to end a decade-long saga that swept his boss, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, out of Congress and politics altogether. Colyandro, the last individual with … Continue reading

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DeLay argues his case before the appeals court panel

It’s an old, familiar argument. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay should not go to prison on money-laundering charges because the 2002 campaign transaction involved a $190,000 check and not cash, his lawyer argued before the Third Court of … Continue reading

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More DeLay trial news

Some other action on the Tom DeLay front this week. The Tom DeLay legal marathon inched forward Wednesday on two separate fronts. John Colyandro, a DeLay co-defendant who has been under investigation since 2003, found out his trial won’t start … Continue reading

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Former DeLay aide Ellis pleads guilty

This was out of the blue. Tom DeLay’s chief political aide, Jim Ellis, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of making an illegal campaign contribution during the 2002 election. Ellis, who headed DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority political … Continue reading

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“Checks aren’t cash” back before 3rd Court of Appeals

Sometimes when you least expect it, Tom DeLay pops up in the news. It would defy common sense to reverse the three-year prison sentence of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay because his money-laundering case involved a check instead … Continue reading

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New judge in DeLay associates’ case

Meet the new judge, fourth in a series: The co-defendants of Tom DeLay, who was convicted last fall of conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations, will be tried before state District Judge David Crain, according to a court … Continue reading

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More on Judge Priest recusing himself

We now have a reason for Judge Pat Priest recusing himself in the upcoming trial of DeLay associates Jim Ellis and John Colyandro. Senior District Judge Pat Priest , who sentenced DeLay to three years in prison for laundering corporate … Continue reading

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Judge Priest recuses himself in DeLay associates’ trial

Didn’t see this coming. Two associates of former U.S House Majority leader Tom DeLay will get a new judge. State District Judge Pat Priest of San Antonio, who oversaw the month-long trial of DeLay last fall, surprisingly recused himself this … Continue reading

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DeLay wants a do over

Good luck with that. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s legal team on Wednesday filed a motion asking for a retrial for the former congressman, convicted last November on charges of money laundering and conspiracy. The motion, filed by … Continue reading

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The Hammer goes to the slammer

Wow. Judge Pat Priest sentenced Tom DeLay to three years in prison. The three-year sentence was on the charge of conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations during the 2002 elections. On the charge of money laundering, DeLay was … Continue reading

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DeLay sentencing delayed

We won’t know the fate of convicted felon Tom DeLay (I do so love saying that) until after the new year. The sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 20 but DeLay’s lawyers have a conflict on that date. “It’s probably going … Continue reading

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Off to the appeals courts for DeLay

Whatever sentence awaits Tom DeLay – I strongly suspect it will be probation, but you never know – it will be a long time, if ever, before he begins serving it. DeLay’s lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, expressed confidence on Friday … Continue reading

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DeLay convicted

Just in time for the holiday. Tom DeLay, the former U.S. House majority leader whose name became synonymous with the Republicans’ controversial rise to power in the Texas House, was found guilty today of laundering money in connection with the … Continue reading

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Still no verdict in the DeLay trial

Two days of deliberation, lots of questions being asked, but still no decision from the DeLay jury. They’ll try again today, and I’ll be a little surprised if they strike out again. Having said that, a hung jury is certainly … Continue reading

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DeLay jury deliberating

No verdict yet, and the jury has been sent home for the night. Prosecutors and the defense made closing statements to the jury about whether a $190,000 corporate money swap between DeLay’s Texas committee and the Republican National Committee actually … Continue reading

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DeLay trial: Defense rests, summaries to begin

Thursday was a wrap, at least as far as evidence and testimony go in the Tom DeLay trial. This much both sides seemed to agree on: DeLay’s chief political aide, Jim Ellis, negotiated a deal with the Republican National Committee … Continue reading

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DeLay trial: The prosecution rests

The prosecution has rested its case in the money laundering trial of Tom DeLay. Visiting Judge Pat Priest today denied former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s motions for a directed verdict of innocent in the political money laundering trial against … Continue reading

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How long is this thing gonna take?

We may have the Tom DeLay trial to entertain us into December. [Monday] prosecutors announced that they might be done by next Tuesday. That would give the defense only a couple of days if they want to make final arguments … Continue reading

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DeLay trial update

The state keeps presenting its case. A former Republican National Committee official testified Thursday that he was told Tom DeLay wanted the RNC to swap corporate money for campaign donations to Texas candidates during the 2002 election campaign. Terry Nelson, … Continue reading

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Opening arguments at the DeLay trial

It’s a little weird that the Tom DeLay trial could be something other than the top news story, isn’t it? The political money laundering trial of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay opened Monday with the Sugar Land Republican … Continue reading

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DeLay trial gets underway

And the entertainment value is high already. A last-minute dispute erupted after DeLay’s defense attorneys struck five potential black jurors, leaving the panel with no African-Americans. Prosecutors objected. DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin cited reasons for striking the jurors. He said … Continue reading

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For those who are just tuning in to the whole Tom DeLay saga

The Statesman has a useful overview of How We Got Here in the DeLay money laundering case, which goes to trial today. I love the fact that it all began with a little hubris. It was November 2002, just days … Continue reading

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The DeLay trial finally gears up

OMG, I’m almost as excited about this as I am about the World Series. Lawyers in the Tom DeLay conspiracy trial have subpoenaed a who’s who of witnesses, from associates of disgraced Washington, D.C., lobbyist Jack Abramoff to former Texas … Continue reading

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DeLay “headed to trial”

After day one of the pretrial hearings, Tom DeLay will get his trial, and he’ll go before his co-defendants. Motions to dismiss the charges against the former Sugar Land-area representative on the grounds of misconduct by prosecutors remained pending late … Continue reading

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At long last, the DeLay trial gets underway

You know what today is? It’s Tom DeLay Sees The Inside Of A Courtroom Day, that’s what day it is. Yes, I know, he’s out of trouble with the feds – this is about the state charges that have been … Continue reading

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CCA overturns “checks aren’t cash” appeals verdict

For once, their pro-prosecution proclivities were good for something. The Austin appeals court erred in deciding that the state’s money-laundering statute – used to prosecute associates of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay – did not apply to transfers … Continue reading

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TDP responds to Vasquez

From Saturday’s op-ed pages, here’s the Texas Democratic Party’s response, written by the TDP’s legal counsel Chad Dunn, to Leo Vasquez in the matter of Ed Johnson. Johnson’s conflict of interest doesn’t pass the smell test, and during the course … Continue reading

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Campaign finance bill passes the House

I’ve had plenty of harsh things to say about House Elections Committee Chair Todd Smith this session, but he’s always been one of the good guys on campaign finance reform. Texas could start regulating how political parties use corporate and … Continue reading Continue reading

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