In 2010, Thomas DeLay, one of the most influential and controversial Republican lawmakers in Texas, was convicted on money laundering charges. In addition, he was accused of conspiracy related to illegal campaign financing to help certain Texas Republican candidates win seats in the Texas House of Representatives in the 2002 elections. Four years earlier, the politician had resigned as majority leader of that body. Eventually, the appellate court acquitted DeLay. Find out more about the scandal at houston-yes.com.
Who is Thomas DeLay?
Thomas DeLay is an American Republican politician who represented Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2006. He served as majority whip (1995-2003) and majority leader (2003-2006), but resigned in June 2006 due to corruption allegations. Prior to his political career, DeLay owned and operated an insect extermination company.
In 1992, Democrats won 70% of the Texas congressional seats. While Republicans controlled the Senate, Democrats controlled the House of Representatives. In 1994, DeLay assisted former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in organizing a revolution that resulted in the Democrats losing control of both houses of Congress, giving Republicans the opportunity for the first time in 40 years.
Corruption scandal
After 2000, Republicans tried to increase their presence in the congressional delegation. In 2001, the Texas Legislative Council reviewed the state’s legislative districts to favor Republicans. In this way, they gained a majority in the Texas House of Representatives, which was still controlled by Democrats.
During the 2002 elections, funds were illegally raised for the Republican Party under the direction of a committee formed by DeLay, Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC). The Republican victory resulted in their control of the Texas House of Representatives, in addition to the Senate.
In May 2005, a Texas judge ruled that TRMPAC violated state law by channeling over $600,000 into the campaign for Republican candidates. Part of the money was spent on posters calling for the arrest of some Democratic lawmakers. As a result, 5 Texas congressional seats flipped from Democrats to Republicans in the 2004 election.
In 2005, the Federal Election Commission audited DeLay’s national political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC), and found that it had failed to report more than $300,000 in debt. The commission also noticed improperly paid expenses by the committee, including the use of funds from an account designated for non-federal elections. Additionally, ARMPAC misstated the balances of its 2001 receipts and various disbursements and receipts for the following year.
Trial and sentence
In 2005, Mr. DeLay was accused of conspiring with two colleagues who, in 2002, attempted to circumvent the Texas law prohibiting corporate contributions to political campaigns. Later, he was also charged with money laundering. In January 2006, DeLay resigned from his position as majority leader, and in June, he resigned from the Texas House of Representatives.
In 2007, together with the well-known American biographer Stephen Mansfield, DeLay published the book No Retreat, No Surrender: One American’s Fight, in which he denied all criminal offenses.
In 2010, a 3-week trial was held, leading to DeLay’s conviction for money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The jury consisted of 1 Republican, 6 Democrats, 2 independent conservatives and 3 independent liberals.
Prosecutors presented numerous letters, phone call recordings, calendars, brochures, etc., to convince the jury that DeLay intended to violate Texas election law. DeLay’s lawyer argued that the money exchange was legal because the Republican National Committee supported the exchange between corporate and individual contribution accounts. He also presented evidence to prosecutors that Mr. DeLay never authorized the actions of his alleged co-conspirators.
The politician was sentenced to three years in prison but released on bail pending appeal. In 2013, an appellate court overturned the verdict, acquitting DeLay. The Republican managed to convince the judges that the money laundering statute should never have been applied to the money exchange, as the initial contributions were legal. Additionally, he argued that contributions to state candidates came from a different account than the one where corporate contributions were deposited.
Controversial political views
DeLay was an ardent critic of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The politician even called this institution “the Gestapo of government.” In 2003, the lawmaker accused Senate Democrats and “BANANA environmentalists” of blocking legislative solutions to the 2003 blackout in North America.
DeLay also opposed the teaching of evolution. After the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, the politician said that part of the reason for the incident was that the school system was teaching children that they were evolved apes. Additionally, he repeatedly approved the relaxation of strict control over gun owners.
The Texan also fought to restrict immigration to the United States and opposed the right to abortion. He supported the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which unreasonably favored creditors over consumers.
DeLay considered the Terri Schiavo case a moment he was proud of. Terri Schiavo is an American woman whose serious illness caused a high-profile judicial and political conflict in the United States over the issue of euthanasia. On February 25, 1990, Schiavo fell into a coma due to cardiac arrest. For years, her body was kept alive by artificial nutrition. Schiavo’s husband and legal guardian claimed that she did not seem to want prolonged artificial life support without the prospect of recovery, so in 1998, he decided to remove her feeding tube. Terri’s parents opposed this, fighting to keep her on life support. The legal process lasted for 7 years (from 1998 to 2005) until the tube was finally removed.
DeLay made headlines for his attempts to lead federal intervention in the case. The politician called the removal of the feeding tube “an act of barbarism” and was accused of hypocrisy, as he had previously agreed to stop artificially supporting his father, who was in a coma after a serious accident. DeLay also supported calls for violence against judges involved in the Schiavo case.
In terms of foreign policy, the Republican strongly supported Israel, considering pro-Israeli policy a fundamental component of the US foreign policy program, which was not agreed upon by Democrats. In 2005, as an opponent of the George W. Bush administration, DeLay was the driving force behind the refusal to provide aid to the Palestinian authorities.