DoJ clears Tom DeLay of any lawbreaking
posted at 11:36 am on August 16, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
It took six years and two administrations, but the Department of Justice has finally completed its probe into Tom DeLay’s connections to corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff — and found nothing to charge. Mike Allen at Politico reports that Delay’s counsel has been informed that Delay is now free to report that the grand jury has closed the case:
The Justice Department has informed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) that the government has ended a six-year investigation of his ties to the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to DeLay’s lead counsel in the matter, Richard Cullen, chairman of McGuireWoods.
The investigation lasted through two presidents and four attorneys general. Its demise provides a stark footnote to the lobbying scandals that helped Democrats regain the House majority they held for 40 years and lost in the Republican revolution of 1994, which eventually made the pugnacious DeLay one of Washington’s top power brokers.
A “stark footnote”? I’m not sure why that would be. DeLay apparently didn’t do anything wrong, and he was hardly the only one involved with Abramoff. In fact, over in Nevada, one of the leaders of the Democratic Party should be explaining his own connections to Abramoff in his Senate re-election campaign. (For that matter, Barack Obama didn’t have much reluctance in raising funds at Abramoff’s old firm, either.)
Nonetheless, the travails of DeLay and the GOP in 2006 should serve as a “stark” lesson for Republicans in the midterms. DeLay authored the notorious “K Street Project” that attempted to build a permanent Republican majority by marrying the party to lobbyists. That resulted in an explosion of pork and a curious predilection with so-called “big government conservatism” that exploded spending after George W. Bush took office. That marriage of the federal government and special interests discredited the GOP as an alternative to Democrats, which combined with the scandal led to their downfall in 2006 and 2008.
No more K Street Projects, and no more big-government conservatism. The next Republican majority had better focus on actual reductions in federal government and the end of pork-barrel spending to woo lobbyists.
And now that the Abramoff case has closed, maybe the American media can pursue the story of Paul Magliocchetti and PMA with at least half the vigor of their pursuit of the Abramoff scandal. After all, we have another well-connected lobbyist allegedly laundering campaign contributions and winning legislative gifts for his clients. Are they less interested in a similar scandal tied to Democrats? And if so … why?
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Justice Delayed is Justice denied!
Chip on August 16, 2010 at 11:39 AM
Delay still sucked…did not appear to have limited government bone in his body.
WashJeff on August 16, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Hey Tom, its time for a civil suit against Ronnie Earl.
Vashta.Nerada on August 16, 2010 at 11:41 AM
In that case, I’m glad he’s gone, even if he’s not guilty of associating with Abramoff. Classic RINO.
UltimateBob on August 16, 2010 at 11:42 AM
That’s gonna leave a mark in the narrative.
Good Lt on August 16, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Meh. He still represents to me what was wrong when the GOP held control of Congress the last time around: protect our phony-baloney jobs and to hell with returning the government to Constitutional principles.
ya2daup on August 16, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Bravo, Ed!
Jim-Rose on August 16, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Well Duh! He was guilty of being a conservative republican in a PC Congress…
JIMV on August 16, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Somebody in the Holder Justice Department obviously didn’t realize that DeLay is white.
Cicero43 on August 16, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Good riddance to Tom DeLay. Good small government Republican congressmen like Dick Armey and John Kasich left elected office in Washington while ‘porksters’ like Delay and Hastert stayed and were responsible for destroying the party’s reputation for fiscal conservatism and small government.
bobnox on August 16, 2010 at 11:49 AM
So is Tom going to sue to get his reputation back?
The left will always tell you who they hate the most.
tarpon on August 16, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Why did it take six years?
SouthernRoots on August 16, 2010 at 12:04 PM
I agree, Ronnie Earle is the real criminal in this story. This is how democratics work, -the charge does the job and they do a go-slow on due process so it drags on. Meanwhile the narrative is set. Watch for more of this type of October-surprise very soon.
slickwillie2001 on August 16, 2010 at 12:04 PM
‘K Street Project’ my @#$%, I’ll tell you what the lesson is from this. RINO or no RINO, Tom DeLay was a major player on our side that the most liberal Justice Department in the history of the known universe now says did nothing wrong. But that didn’t and doesn’t matter, he is just a focus point for the Journolistas, Academenazis, and DemocRATS. He’s a bloody shirt for them to hold up to the braying proletariat. They did to him what they did to Reagan, Donovan, Bork, Thomas, Palin, insert-your-favorite-example-here. The lesson is, WE are to blame. WE let it happen. WE ran the other way as fast as we could. Rather than back a guy on our side – no matter what – just as the DemocRATS do/did with Frank, Kennedy (pick one), Rangle, Gore, insert-your-favorite-example-here, instead we HELPED the so-and-soes drag our guy down and us with him. That’s the lesson.
Knott Buyinit on August 16, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Must have been difficult for Mike Allen to have to report this…Jlisters don’t like this.
d1carter on August 16, 2010 at 12:07 PM
You guys have got to see this Dem thug hired to intimidate townhall questioners.
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/08/it-begins-dem-congresswoman-brings-bruno-the-thug-to-threaten-constituents-at-town-hall-meeting-video/
ClassicCon on August 16, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Delay in 2012!
Rocks on August 16, 2010 at 12:14 PM
And Tommy-boy does have a case. Earl tried to nail Delay on a law that did not exist yet at the time the “crimes” occurred, and he had to shop 3 grand juries to finally get one that would indict. Someone should send Ronnie the definition of Ex Post Facto, and an explanation of why we don’t do that here.
iurockhead on August 16, 2010 at 12:16 PM
It’s like Rush says, it’s all about the accusation, not the truth or reality of something.
Mojave Mark on August 16, 2010 at 12:20 PM
Right on. Real conservatism means “less government”, not “more government, just in a different direction.”
rbj on August 16, 2010 at 12:29 PM
The next time Ed talks to Hugh Hewitt, perhaps he could ask why he thinks Mike Allen is such a good interview. Just speaking for myself, Politico, and particularly Mike Allen, is just another left wing hack not so cleverly disguised as a reporter.
InterestedObserver on August 16, 2010 at 12:29 PM
That’s why we call them Oppressives instead of Progressives.
Oppressive intimidation tactics with constituents, Oppressive regulation and taxation and a toxic business environment.
Fake8 on August 16, 2010 at 12:30 PM
DOJ: Hey sorry about ruining your life and dragging that out for six years while you lost the respect of your peers and your political enemies slimed you. No harm no foul.
Delay:…uh thanks.
Classic big government “investigation”. Whatever your feelings about how much of a RINO Delay is /was I’m actually surprised that such a fishing expedition didn’t find SOMETHING. I mean six years? They were probably sifting through his toenail clippings to see if some of them were Abramoffs. You know he’s really clean now, if there had been even the slightest impropriety the media would have gleefully beat republicans about the head with it. As it is, this is just going to quietly fade into obscurity. Classic.
Tacitus on August 16, 2010 at 12:38 PM
MSM this evening:
“Tom who?”
BobMbx on August 16, 2010 at 12:39 PM
Well said, and dead on gnats azz accurate.
44Magnum on August 16, 2010 at 12:43 PM
There was the line in the movie “Doubt” where the priest talking about damage to a reputation. He said false accusation was like like ripping a feather pillow open on a windy roof top and then when the accusation was proved false to try put all of the feathers back in the pillow. Not possible.
inspectorudy on August 16, 2010 at 12:53 PM
Hmmmm.
Frankly the real lesson here is that when you’re in a political fight with Democrats … you better be ready to fight for your life.
Pity the GOP has never understood this.
memomachine on August 16, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Dancing with the Stars and Justice
Kini on August 16, 2010 at 1:03 PM
Yep, its all about K street and those nasty Republicans….
dmann on August 16, 2010 at 1:09 PM
Maybe that’s why Delay is off the hook? Perhaps by hashing up a trial, it would bring Reid, and Obama’s names into the mix…and that’s most likely the LAST thing they want, or need right now. My guess is, DeLay probably isn’t guilty, but hanging him out the window for partisan hate, will only bring others into the fold of corruption, and they know it.
capejasmine on August 16, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Even though you forgot the exit question, I’ll answer it. The presstitutes are far less interested in a similar scandal tied to the Rats because they have a vested interest in keeping the Rats in power.
steveegg on August 16, 2010 at 1:19 PM
You’re right. It’s hardly a case of “Good riddance.” Even if DeLay was involved in the Bush administration’s over-spending, the whole attack on him was purely partisan, and we should not be standing by and dismissing it as, “he wasn’t such a great politician after all.”
DeLay did nothing wrong, but was virtually forced out of office over bogus charges for purely political reasons. There’s probably no remedy he can have, except for suing Ronny Earle, but there is one option open: a Congressional investigation into Earle for pushing charges he knew were bogus, and seeking any evidence of political coordination with others in office trying to get rid of DeLay.
tom on August 16, 2010 at 1:48 PM
OK, Where does he go to get his reputation back.
(yeah, it has already been said)
Where does he go to get the millions of dollars he had to spend on lawyers back?
Where does he go to get his job, (as one of the very few Republicans who could /would fight the leftists with strong and successful tactics) back?
LegendHasIt on August 16, 2010 at 2:04 PM
Unfortunately this is just the Fed DoJ Ronnie Earle was a County District Attorney and later in the piece it states that Tom Delay still faces his show trial in Travis County, and has a pre-trial hearing next week.
phreshone on August 16, 2010 at 2:16 PM
Everyone with a brain knew that Delay was getting screwed but the dems milked it to their full advantage. They not only were able to make hay off the alleged scandals but they got rid of a very effective republican politician at the same time. I think Delay would be ideal for running the RNC but he probably figures that he has taken enough crap for a while.
duff65 on August 16, 2010 at 2:31 PM
Amen.
Also glad DeLay finally has received an official clearing.
KittyLowrey on August 16, 2010 at 2:39 PM
There is nothing to add. This is the Hot Air I remember.
The Race Card on August 16, 2010 at 3:28 PM
Yes.
Because they are nothing but a collection of two-bit whores.
oldleprechaun on August 16, 2010 at 4:19 PM
It’s not “news”.
Random Numbers (Brian Epps) on August 16, 2010 at 5:51 PM
First the Black Panther case, now Tom DeLay. Isn’t this administration going to indict anyone?
New Republican talking points-
Obama soft on crime!
patch on August 16, 2010 at 5:59 PM
I have this was a witch hunt from the get go. I’m no fan of Tom DeLay to be sure. I found him to be an oily politician (ok that’s the department of redundancy department LOL) and in the pockets of the K Street lobbyists. He also turned his back on conservative principles and was fundamental in instituting huge deficits when the GOP was in power. The Republicans will never win by governing as “Democrat-Lite”.
simkeith on August 16, 2010 at 6:03 PM
Maybe (don’t necessarily agree) maybe, but not the point. Attacking Tom Delay was the beginning of a concerted effort the Donks waged, very surgically at first I might add, at any and all Republicans to spin up to the ultimate goal of painting his congress as the folks that presided over the “Culture of Corruption.” Most everything of which they asserted, untrue.
If they attack those on our side and we don’t defend them, whether we like them or not, we will never stray on top even if we win back both chambers this fall.
hawkdriver on August 16, 2010 at 6:28 PM
Okay, we don’t want them to “stray” on top. “Stay” on top…
Dr. Freud?
hawkdriver on August 16, 2010 at 6:39 PM
Bravo.
DOJ to Ronnie Earle:
fossten on August 16, 2010 at 10:41 PM
Exactly. People need to know that this rogue county DA spent almost 2 years shopping this to grand juries, kept getting no bills (they voted no case), and only at the last conceivable moment, just before a grand jury’s time was expiring, at the very last hour, got one to barely vote to bring charges for DeLay. This whole thing was trumped up and bogus, and the lay they indicted DeLay for was not even on the books at the time the supposed “misdeed” took place.
People, this was a political lynching by a rogue county district attorney on one of the few blue counties in a very red state. This should scare EVERYONE who believes in law and order and liberty.
karenhasfreedom on August 17, 2010 at 1:27 AM
Whoops, up there it is supposed to read:
and the LAW they indicted DeLay for was not even on the books at the time . . .
karenhasfreedom on August 17, 2010 at 1:29 AM