As Pure as Fallen Snow

The indictments begin, and yet, Tom DeLay manages to bounce and wiggle his way out of any trouble. The guy's got to be made of flubber.

Texas Grand Jury Indicts DeLay Associates

Wait... a Texas Grand Jury? Geez, these guys must be REALLY crooked.

AUSTIN, Texas - A political organization formed by House Majority leader Tom DeLay and a prominent Texas business group face charges of taking illegal corporate money during the 2002 legislative campaigns.

DeLay, R-Texas, was not indicted by a Travis County grand jury in the charges made public Thursday, although three of his political associates were charged earlier. District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat, said he had no jurisdiction over DeLay's personal conduct.

Wiggled out of another one. How in the world does he manage to dodge every bullet? Even Batman got hit occasionally. Well, anyway, it's time to play connect-the-dots. La, la, la. See if you can find common ground here: (bolds mine)

District Attorney Ronnie Earle said the five felony indictments against the two groups show a misuse of corporate money to "influence Texas elections in 2002."

The indictment alleges the two groups — Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee and the Texas Association of Business — worked together to circumvent the election code and funnel "massive amounts of secret corporate wealth" into campaigns, Earle said.

State law prohibits use of corporate contributions to advocate election or defeat of state candidates.

Okay... so people have been indicted in influencing Texas elections in 2002 with dirty money. Got it. Circumvented the election code and took a treasure bath. But what about DeLay?

DeLay helped Republicans win control of the Texas Legislature and keep Congress in GOP hands in 2002.

(snip)

Once DeLay helped Republicans win control of the state Legislature in 2002, the majority leader engineered a Republican redistricting plan that gave the state's U.S. House delegation a 21-11 majority in the current Congress. The effort helped Republicans increase their House margin by five seats this year.

So, obviously, he's got his fingerprints all over this...

Kevin Madden, DeLay's spokesman, said the majority leader only played a limited role in the political organization. He served on its advisory board and appeared at fundraising events, Madden said.

Uh, okay, that's a little ridiculous... surely some sort of investigation will...

A complaint filed last year with the House ethics committee alleged that DeLay's activities with TRMPAC violated House rules, but the panel deferred action and has done nothing since.

If any of you need me, I'll be banging my head against the wall all goddamned day.


(There's a cross-post that's sure all that glitters is gold, and it's buying a stairway to heaven)