Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) has received a three-year prison sentence following his conviction in a money laundering and conspiracy case, the latest blow to the once powerful lawmaker.
DeLay was convicted in November on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DeLay, who was forced to step down as majority leader in 2005 after he was indicted on the state charges, has long denied any wrongdoing.
DeLay is appealing his conviction, but the sentencing is a yet another remarkable development in the downfall of a politician who was feared in the House and earned the nickname “The Hammer” during the peak of his power.
State Judge Pat Priest sentenced DeLay to a three-year term on conspiracy, and then accepted 10 years of probation in lieu of a five-year prison term on the money laundering charge. DeLay faced up to life in prison following his conviction.
“I always intended to follow the law,” DeLay told Priest before the sentence was handed down. “I’m not stupid. Everything I did I had accountants and lawyers telling me what to do and how to follow the letter of the law, even the spirit of the law.”
“Judge, I can’t be remorseful for something I don’t think I did,” DeLay added, according to CNN.
DeLay will be released on a $10,000 bond while he seeks to overturn the conviction.
At the center of the money laundering case against DeLay was the claim by prosecutors that the Texas Republican and his political allies illegally funneled “soft money” in 2002 state legislative races, a violation of Lone Star State election law.
In Sept. 2002, an organization founded by DeLay, Texans for a Republican Majority, donated $190,000 to the Republican National State Elections Committee, an arm of the Republican National Committee. TRMPAC made the donation to the committee in the form of soft money — unregulated donations from corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals. Federal candidates and the national parties cannot accept such donations at this time.
The RNC unit then donated the exact same amount in hard money — funds raised under federal donation limits — to Texas GOP state candidates.
Texas Republicans seized control of the state legislature that year for the first time since Reconstruction and redrew a number of Democratic-controlled congressional districts. That controversial move allowed Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional districts, resulting in the ouster of several Democrats and helping cement DeLay’s power in the House.
Three years later, DeLay was indicted by then-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle for conspiring to violate Texas election laws. Under House GOP rules, DeLay was required to step down as majority leader, and the next summer, he resigned his seat in Congress rather than face voters angered by his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal. DeLay was never charged with wrongdoing in that case.
After years of legal wrangling, DeLay’s case finally went to trial in October. DeLay and his attorneys that such transfers like that between TRMPAC and the RNC were frequent during the period when soft money was allowed at the federal level, occurring hundreds if not thousands of times.
18 comments:
Delay was mentioned in class today, but this article was what really brought that little shock of reality back into the voting process. "The Hammer" is a great example of the amount of how wrong a voted official can sway. It's hard to give politics the much needed attention it deserves when the media endorses personal attacks on the candidates based on the contrasting red versus blue colors, but when you're listening to the speakers of both sides you never think that person would have a disturbingly happy mug shot. Money laundering is a serious offense and I'm glad Delay was thwarted, but I think this article should really give the ballet holders a second thought to their choice. I would also like to take a moment to pay respect to a true caretaker of the people and give everyone a moment to think, "With great power, comes great responsibility."
It is so paradisiacal to know that politicians can get punished for breaking laws. Something gives me great pleasure in knowing that Delay will serve 3 years which allows me personal satisfaction to know that no man is above the law, even in the United States government. Hopefully this sentence will reflect onto other candidates and current politicians and warn them that there are consequences for their advantageous actions. Rhiannon is right "With great power, comes great responsibility."
Money seems to cause many, many issues when it comes to politics. Unfortunately, in this consumer based society, I fear there is no way to remove the price tag from the equation. I am glad that he will be punished for the offense, mainly in that it might serve as an example to others that becoming part of the political machine does not put one above the law.
The facts in this case are quite interesting, though what right now I'd really like to hear is how Delay and his lawyers are explaining these transfer of funds. Both sides of the story really ought to be examined, even if it seems pretty clear that Delay was in the wrong. It seems as though he has a history of being in rather sketchy business, so I really think the case is exactly what it seems to be. Still, it'd be nice to see what they have to say. I think it should also be said, though, that this sort of thing is almost inherent or natural in politics. It's been said before, and I'll say it again, the point of politics is to win and remain in power. So honestly it's not surprising to me whenever I hear of things like this because it's playing the game- trying to win. Not saying that I condone this at all, simply because you should win while following the rules of the game, but I find it... understandable. Is it a flaw in the system? Perhaps, but I don't think there is really a better way. The best thing we can do is exactly what is going on now. Try to elect the best politicians available, and make sure there are things in place that prevent them from doing things such as this.
I find it strange that such a strong republican would launder money. I would be interested in knowing what he had to hide if anything at all. If he is so highly regarded maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt instead of immediately trying to destroy him. However if he is guilty as I said before I would be interested in what it is and it would be a deserving sentence. But I find it strange that we are so quick to kill off this republican but you dont ever hear about Geithner?????????
When having so much power the only thing that can ever satisfy a man like Delay is more power even if that means to launder money to get that much more is certainy worth the risk in the eyes of an official. Beside I'm more than willing to say and gamble alot! That he is not the only official doing things like this. Hey I'm not saying all officials are bad sometimes they do all the wrong things for the right reasons. Still justice comes to everyone.. No matter what we do.
The rich get richer... or in this case try and fail. Tom Delay can try and pretend that he had no idea what he was doing was illegal, but if he is as smart and he claims he is then he would have known. If he's not that smart then he has no business in politics and deserves the punishment for being that stupid.
To be honest, this article leaves me thoroughly confused. Yes, money laundering is illegal, but I feel as if there had to have been candidates who have done much worse than this and gotten away with it. I've heard from other sources that Delay has partly defended himself by saying that he was monitored heavily during every step of the way and would have found it nearly impossible to carry something like this out. Whether he is solely to blame or there are others guilty in the crime is still left out in the open. I also find it interesting that this article mentions Delay's powerful position in the House before his arrest; if he was so powerful, why did he feel the need to launder the money in the first place? Perhaps I'm just being naive, but I feel like there's something missing to this article.
Did anyone else think that mug shot was twisted? That tells us a lot about the kind of person he is, only people who are like "proud" of what they've done take a mug shot like that. Anyway, I agree with Robert about how it's great that this man isn't considered above the law and gets three years in prison for his crime. Too many politicians who do bad things don't get caught, or if they, do then they don't go to prison for it. It's horrible that Delay would launder money, but at least he gets the punishment he deserves. Any other politician who is do the same as Delay did, I hope they will think twice and not go threw with it. This should be a good reminder to all other politicians that if they are doing something illegal they can get caught and thrown in jail as well.
I must say I'm not entirely surprised to hear this. For some reason politics (in my mind) goes hand in hand with corruption. Yeah it's not a true statement in every case, but it seems like too many politicians get so wrapped up in getting ahead of each other that they completely overlook the people's interests. I don't know the moral or ethical or background of DeLay, but I'm curious to see what he would call his committed acts. Why doesn't he think what he did was wrong? If it wasn't laundering, then what?
This topic seems to be coming up more over the past few years. The way the campaign finance laws are written should probably be looked again on a state by state basis to cut down on the number of times this incident takes place. Tom Delay, the former House Majority Leader, has been brought down by this, whether it be that he did or didnt do it though is for the courts to decide. Every time I have heard this issue brought up the accused person always claims that they "thought" they were following the law, letter by letter. If Mr. Delay did in fact participate in the events he is accused of then his sentence is minimal compared to the life term he could have received. This incident might make current and future politicians look more closely at their finances.
He deserves his punishment. Men with so much power think they can get away with anything. They should just be happy with what they have instead of trying to get more money and more power. Delay's case shows justice, it is good to know that no matter someone's standing in society, they still will be treated the same as everyone else when it comes to the law.
"I don't think I did it".... Great defense Tomtom..
Rhiannon said it perfectly, he's a strange dude with a "disturbingly happy mug shot"..
And might I also say that I enjoy kegan's (el Roberto) obvious enjoyment over tomtoms punishment
You do wrong... You get wrong done to you - namely time In prison with a large black man named 'daddy'
Even though I've already posted, I've found that the recent reading has kicked off an interesting train of thought in my head. Mainly, that in order to have a political machine this big run "correctly", sometimes formality must be sacrificed. Understand that I do not like that DeLay was doing this, but that I do see some of the reasoning behind it. I haven't always agreed with the freedom of information act because I've found that sometimes secrecy is needed in order to accomplish what needs to be done. Sometimes, I think this includes on matters that aren't necessarily legal. Rifling through any politicians dirty laundry would undoubtedly lead to many unsavory discoveries, and in this case, Delay's was thrown out there for everyone to see. It is condemnable behavior, but it keeps everybody playing the game (participating in politics) and thereby following "the rules" (I refer to the idea of social order, in that refusing to follow the law equates to losing the game).
Yet another great example of how money can and will cause trouble in the political arena. I do think that money laundering is a serious charge that should be punished, but I find it hard to believe that Delay would be the one and only offender throughout the whole of politics. I would like to believe that all of the money "raised" for political campaigns is obtained through lawful channels, but as this article proves that is a naive fallacy. This is one of the major reasons that Americans are dissatisfied and disinterested in politics. If we are unable to trust elected officials with campaign funds, how can we expect them to handle tax payer money properly?
Almost all politicians are guilty of some sort of offense of this nature at some point in time through their careers in politics. Delay was simply a scapegoat ratted out by the liberal majority. This conviction is nothing to be concerned over. Hopefully, it may convince other politicians to clean up their ways. however, maybe it will convince congress to change the rules regarding campaign finance, this is capitalism after all.
Money laundering occurs quite often in politics, it also funds many different politicians and political causes. It is also how many political groups tend to gain the upper hand over others. Tom Delay was very good at this, but just as one group can be good at this so can another; and even the most lucrative and clandestine of actions can be discovered. While Tom Delay's actions were less than clandestine they still caught up with him. The poker chip game is a perfect example of shifty dealings and and shifting positions of power. Tom Delay was good at what he did, but to gain the power he obtained he was required to break rules and make shady rules. Sand now he pays the price.
It amazes me how something this big can slip under the radar several times without being noticed by a single soul. Corruption is a disease that's infected the entire system and money is the root of all the illness. Politics and having majority rule of your party has become the sole purpose of the government instead of looking out for the common citizen. Just imagine how many more "Delays" are in power that haven't been caught yet...
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