Category Archives: Scandalized!

The stuff is really starting to hit the fan in the Texas Youth Commission scandal. A Texas Ranger who investigated allegations of sexual abuse at a Texas Youth Commission school told lawmakers Thursday he saw “kids with fear in their … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m sure you’re well aware by now that Scooter Libby was convicted on four of the five counts against him – one count of obstruction, two counts of perjury and one count of lying to the FBI; he was acquitted … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You have to give Rick Perry credit for consistency. In good times and in bad, whether he’s in trouble or he’s in clover, his first instinct is always the same: Appoint a crony to do whatever needs to be done. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Star Telegram takes a close look at why some legislators love the concept of separate property. It’s illegal for Texas lawmakers to use campaign funds to buy real estate or enrich themselves, but several legislators have used a loophole … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Following up on yesterday’s post, here’s the story about the arguments made in the Court of Criminal Appeals in the DeLay case, over whether or not the conspiracy charge that was tossed should be reinstated. Rick Reed, an assistant to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

More than four months after agreeing to hear an appeal from the Travis County DA’s office over the dismissal of a conspiracy charge against Tom DeLay, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will actually hear arguments in the case today. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Former Attorney General Dan Morales is out of the pokey and in a halfway house. Morales was transferred last month from a federal prison in Texarkana to a halfway house in San Antonio, according to his brother, Michael Morales. […] … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Among other things that the new year will bring is the long-awaited trial in Travis County of Tom DeLay on conspiracy and money laundering charges. Back in September, the Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to hear Travis County DA Ronnie … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Texas Ethics Commission does what it does best, which is to say, “nothing”. A Texas official who receives any sum of cash as a gift can satisfy state disclosure laws by reporting the money simply as “currency,” without specifying … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Missed this earlier – a Travis County grand jury has reindicted the Texas Association of Business on charges that it illegally spent corporate money on campaign advertising. The re-indictments are an attempt to fix objections by State District Judge Mike … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s like Christmas every day with Shelley Sekula Gibbs in Congress. Just three days after being sworn in, U.S. Rep. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs wants Congress to investigate the destruction of files in her office by former staff members of her predecessor, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Bob Ney: Not the first sitting Republican Congressman to plead guilty to felonies, but the first to plead to them in conjunction with Jack Abramoff. Standing before Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Let’s talk about Rep. Tom Reynolds for a minute. He’s the chair of the NRCC. He’s known about the Mark Foley’s predelictions towards pages at least as far back as 2005 when staffers for Rep. Rodney Alexander, for whom one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Before he resigned his seat in disgrace, Rep. Mark Foley had $2.7 million in his campaign warchest. The NRCC, which is strapped for cash this year, wants to get its hands on that money: Carl Forti, the communications director for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Josh Marshall says: In my post a short while ago, I wrote: “And what happens when Joe Sestak asks Curt Weldon whether he’s lost confidence in Denny Hastert? How does that conversation go?” Let’s make this more than hypothetical. What … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I blogged some of this over at Kuff’s World yesterday, and I really don’t want to get too bogged down in it because it’s impossible for me to keep up with a story like this, but do note what Josh … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m not going to spend too much time on the new revelations about Ken Mehlman, Karl Rove, and Jack Abramoff, because sites like TPM Muckraker will have this covered nine ways to Sunday by people who blog for a living, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Roll Call: Hundreds of contacts between top White House officials and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates “raise serious questions about the legality and actions” of those officials, according to a draft bipartisan report prepared by the House Government … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Of all the things I’ve heard about the Jack Abramoff scandal, I think this may well be the sleaziest. In November of 1997, Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) publicly questioned the credibility of a teenage girl’s claims that she’d been the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

From Friday, the toothless Texas Ethics Commission took a pass on ruling whether or not bags of cash given as gifts to state officials need to be fully disclosed. Seven of the eight commissioners present at their regular meeting agreed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

For absurdist theater, it’s hard to top the Texas Ethics Commission, which is set to approve a draft ruling that says gifts of cash to politicians need not be quantified, but can simply say “currency” and be aceptable. “If the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The first really big domino of the Abramof scandal has fallen. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty today to making false statements and conspiracy to commit fraud and violating post-employment restrictions for former congressional aides. The charges are related to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Travis County DA Ronnie Earle will get one more crack at having the conspiracy charge against Tom DeLay reinstated as the Court of Criminal Appeals will hear his request. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to hear oral arguments … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Noted for the record. For four years, Austin lobbyist Mike Toomey has tried to stay offstage in the legal melodrama over corporate spending in the 2002 Texas elections. Now, the former chief of staff to Gov. Rick Perry is at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Justice Department is investigating Christine DeLay as part of the Abramoff investigation. In the last few weeks, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have interviewed several people at the Alexander Strategy Group lobbying firm to determine if Christine DeLay was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

David Harris has a response on Texas Kaos to the earlier story about charges levelled against him by Jennifer Vaughan. On March 1, 2006, I received an email on my personal account from the soldier quoted in your story. She … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It pains me to report that David Harris is in some serious trouble with the military. Harris, an Iraqi war veteran challenging 11-term Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Arlington, is accused of “conduct unbecoming an officer” for maintaining a “close … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Tom DeLay/TRMPAC criminal trial is back in the news today as attorneys for DeLay associates Jim Ellis and John Colyandro are pursuing an appeal of their indictments. Lawyers for two of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s political … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another thing I’ve not yet noted as I try to catch up with last week and stay on top of this one is the departure of another high-profile scandal-plagued Republican Congressman, Bob Ney, who announced on Monday that he would … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I didn’t get around to this earlier, but I’ll now point you to this BOR post about a lawsuit lost by Republican uberdonor James Leininger’s company KCI and its effect on KCI’s stock, of which the Texas Employees Retirement System … Continue reading → Continue reading →

CREW strikes again. Last night, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released a conciliation agreement reached with Americans for a Republican Majority political action committee (ARMPAC) stemming from a complaint Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed against the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another one from the inbox: [Yesterday] morning, State Representative Jim Dunnam announced his request that the Texas State Auditor begin a comprehensive audit of four different lobbying contracts that state-funded entities have with Tom DeLay’s former chief of staff, Drew … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You may recall that State Rep. Lon Burnam filed suit in April to force the Texas Ethics Commission to reverse its incredibly boneheaded ruling that public officials who receive cash or other gifts don’t have to disclose their value (see … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This ought to be exciting. A Texas Indian tribe filed a federal lawsuit today alleging ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and their associates engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe’s casino. The Alabama-Coushatta … Continue reading → Continue reading →