More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay
by TChris
Tom DeLay's hope that he could distract voters with Terri Schiavo was fleeting. Only the most extreme shared his desire to see the federal courts interfere with an intensely personal struggle that had already played out in state courts.
Now it's back to reality for DeLay. Despite offering "a vigorous public defense in recent weeks to a flurry of ethics accusations," DeLay and his PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority, face new scrutiny.
The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by Mr. DeLay's political action and campaign committees, according to a detailed review of disclosure statements filed with the Federal Election Commission and separate fund-raising records in Mr. DeLay's home state, Texas.
Most of the payments to his wife, Christine A. DeLay, and his only child, Dani DeLay Ferro, were described in the disclosure forms as "fund-raising fees," "campaign management" or "payroll," with no additional details about how they earned the money.
Maybe his wife and daughter are worth the money, but contributors to the PAC must be wondering whether their cash was simply diverted to benefit the DeLay household.
"It's DeLay Inc. " said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a research group that has closely monitored Mr. DeLay and his campaign fund-raising and expenditures. "If it's not illegal, it certainly is inappropriate for members of Congress to use their positions to enrich their families."
More embarrassing are the "lavish, privately financed overseas trips for Mr. DeLay and his aides, including a 1997 trip to Russia that was underwritten by a conservative education group closely linked to a powerful Republican lobbyist who often boasted of his influence with the majority leader." Will the time soon come when DeLay's constituents exceed their embarrassment threshold, say "enough is enough," and elect a replacement?
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