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Representative Tom Delay, R-Tex., talks to reporters Wednesday, Sept. 28 after resigning as House Majority Leader following his indictment by a Texas grand jury on conspiracy charges.

DeLay faces criminal prosecution

by Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury Wednesday on a charge of conspiring to violate political fundraising laws, forcing him to temporarily step aside from his GOP post. He is the highest-ranking member of Congress to face criminal prosecution.

“This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history. It’s a sham,” he said.

DeLay’s temporary departure and the prospect of a criminal trial for one of the Republicans’ most visible leaders reverberated throughout the GOP-run Congress, which was already struggling with ethics questions surrounding its Senate leader.

The indictment stems from a plan DeLay helped set in motion in 2001 to help Republicans win control of the Texas House in the 2002 elections for the first time since Reconstruction.

The grand jury accused the men of conspiring to route corporate donations from DeLay’s Texas committee to the Republican Party in Washington, then returning the money back to Texas legislative candidates. It was a scheme intended to evade a state law outlawing corporate donations going to candidates, the indictment said.