Category Archives: Scandalized!

In the comments to this post about the status of the charges against Tom DeLay, Right of Texas asks: Don’t you agree that all of this is semi-politically motivated? My honest answer, at least right now, is no, I don’t. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You may recall State Rep. Lon Burnham’s pursuit of bankrupt TRMPAC treasurer Bill Ceverha and his conflicts of interest as a member of the board of the Employees Retirement System of Texas – see here for the previous entry in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So the hearing by the 3rd Court of Appeals on whether or not to reinstate one of the indictments against Tom DeLay was yesterday. The ruling will take some time, and the trial is still too far off on the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You may recall that Comptroller Strayhorn had announced an audit of payments to the lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates by the state’s Office of Federal and State Relations (OFSR) after the Chron broke a story about C&A’s funneling money back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another appeal in the DeLay money laundering case, another opportunity to complain about judicial bias. On Wednesday, one 3rd Court of Appeals panel will hear Earle’s appeal of a district judge’s ruling throwing out charges against DeLay, R-Sugar Land, of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There are two things that you should take away from this story about Tom DeLay and his re-election campaign being in legal limbo as the Scandal-Go-Round turns. One: Former DeLay spokesman Michael Scanlon, who was an Abramoff business partner, has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Score one for Team DeLay. A state appeals court Monday gave U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay a legal and public relations victory by throwing out more than 30 subpoenas issued by Travis County prosecutors investigating the Sugar Land Republican’s political finance … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t honestly know why I hadn’t linked to the Vanity Fair article on Jack Abramoff (PDF) before now. Heck of a picture there on the first page, isn’t it? I imagine it may find its way into a campaign … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You may recall the movie “The Big Buy”, which I reviewed a few months ago. Here now is your chance to see it for yourself. As former House Majority Leader DeLay readied himself Tuesday to accept his party’s nomination for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

just in time for the Saturday paper, the Washington Post weighs in on that nice lady Rep. Harris, whose unique interpretation of the relationship between the words “vote” and “Right” gifted us with all the marvellous things this administration has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just go read this story about how one of Tom DeLay’s friends got Texas Congressman Sam Johnson to instigate a complaint against Texans for Public Justice with the IRS for its role in exposing DeLay’s financial shenanigans. As Josh Marshall … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Continuing her investigation into attempts by the Republicans in Congress to pass a bill absolving the government of its court-ordered obligations to the Indian Trust, Mary Beth Williams thinks she’s found a link to Jack Abramoff in testimony by Stephen … Continue reading → Continue reading →

More subpoenas from the Travis County DA. New subpoenas issued by Travis County prosecutors on Thursday cast light on a campaign contribution made by Primedia Inc. in 2002 just two days before the State Board of Education cast a vote … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Tom DeLay now, as quoted in Roll Call: In his letter to Republican constituents, mailed out by his re-election campaign this week, DeLay acknowledges that he faces political problems due to his ethical problems, although he dismisses the allegations as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Someone please help me out here. How, exactly, is this not a conflict of interest? A powerful West Texas lawmaker has cajoled and berated state health officials for nearly three years, trying to persuade them to dedicate millions of dollars … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Texas Observer advances the ball again in the Tigua Casino scandal, with evidence suggesting that Christian Coalition activist/bagman Ralph Reed broke the law by acting as an unregistered lobbyist. Here’s a taste: In 2001, legally questionable Texas casinos operated … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve blogged before about Bill Ceverha, the now-bankrupt former TRMPAC treasurer who sits on the board of the Employees Retirement System of Texas – see here, here, and here for background. Ceverha has been dogged by State Rep. Lon Burnham … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The anti-DeLay TV ads get another day in the news cycle, but not in a way that I’d have preferred. The Public Campaign Action Fund and the Campaign for America’s Future said they used the nonprofit arms of their organizations … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Though I may be annoyed at how much Carole Keeton Strayhorn has bamboozled certain segments of the Democratic Party lately, I will not deny that she does have her uses. Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, responding to a report in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Where your tax dollars are going, thanks to the benificence of Governor Perry. Two weeks after the state made its first $15,000 monthly payment to a contract lobbyist in Washington, D.C., the lobbyist and his firm spent $7,600 to host … Continue reading → Continue reading →

On the one hand: Lobbyist for state tied to Abramoff Todd Boulanger, who once worked closely with confessed influence peddler Jack Abramoff, now heads a group lobbying Congress for Texas under a $330,000 state contract. Boulanger and his firm, Cassidy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The two-week saga of the anti-Tom DeLay ad comes to something like a close today when it finally runs on the air. A controversial ad linking Rep. Tom DeLay to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff will hit the airwaves in Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And to think, their run might have ended by now. At least one Houston television station has agreed to air a reworked television ad linking Rep. Tom DeLay to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff after refusing to air the first … Continue reading → Continue reading →

David Barrett, who has wasted $21 million of your tax dollars in a decade-long pursuit of Henry Cisneros, has finally produced his report, which is long on accusations and short on evidence. In a 474-page report, independent counsel David M. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rick Casey looks at the anti-DeLay ad that the wussy local stations declined to run, and agrees with FactCheck about its veracity. One more day in the news cycle for an ad that would have been remarked on once had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And as I thought, the rejection of the anti-DeLay ad by Houston’s wussy local TV stations has kept it in the news. “We find that DeLay’s lawyer mischaracterized what the ad said, and that the ad contains nothing that is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The next best thing to having an advertisement run on TV is having its cancellation by scaredy-cat station managers turn into a news story, especially one that may last multiple days. Heck, if the stations refund your money for not … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Shorter Chron story: When Tom DeLay suffers, we all hurt with him. [W]hen embattled Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, stepped down permanently as House majority leader Saturday, Texas found itself without a rainmaker in a top congressional leadership role. “It … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember the Texas casino that then-AG John Cornyn shut down with a lawsuit? The one where Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed were playing both sides of the fence and getting a handsome payoff for it? What was the one name … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Poor Tom. Even the all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals doesn’t love him. Texas’ highest criminal court today rejected U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay’s request to throw out criminal indictments against him or order an immediate trial on a charge of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Poor Tom. Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay on Saturday abandoned his bid to remain as House majority leader, clearing the way for leadership elections among Republicans eager to shed the taint of scandal. In a letter to rank-and-file Republicans, DeLay said, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As Jack Abramoff was pleading guilty today, Travis County DA Ronnie Earle took the opportunity to do a little more research for his money-laundering case against Tom DeLay by issuing more subpoenas. Prosecutor Ronnie Earle is seeking correspondence among a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Let’s talk about something other than candidate filings, shall we? How about Jack Abramoff? Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is under criminal investigation, may agree this week to cooperate with federal officials in a move that former prosecutors say would … Continue reading → Continue reading →