DWI Charges Against State Rep. Mike Krusee Dropped
November 17, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · 1 Comment
DWI charges against State Rep. Mike Krusee (R-Round Rock) stemming from an April 30 arrest were dismissed by a visiting judge in Williamson County.
Prosecutors Looking At Dewhurst’s Financial Disclosures
November 12, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Travis County prosecutors are examining whether or not Lt. Governor David Dewhurst properly disclosed details about his gigantic personal fortune on ethics disclosure forms required by Texas law.
Via AP:
“We’ve cooperated entirely,” said Dewhurst’s lawyer, famed Austin defense attorney Roy Minton. “We’re just in the process of showing documents to them.”
Travis County Attorney David Escamilla said he is reviewing a formal complaint against Dewhurst by a campaign watchdog group. The complaint followed an Associated Press report about Dewhurst’s personal financial statements, which don’t reveal his riches, estimated to be worth as much as $200 million.
Dewhurst, a Republican, is said to be the richest man in Texas politics, but most of his wealth is contained in a trust whose major assets are not disclosed. As lieutenant governor, he presides over the state Senate and wields tremendous influence over legislation. He is considering a run for higher office as early as 2010.
Escamilla, a Democrat who investigates allegations of misdemeanor offenses by public officials, said he could not discuss any evidence he had received but confirmed he was looking into the matter.
“We’re certainly reviewing the information related to the complaint,” Escamilla said.
Dewhurst spokesman Rich Parsons said Dewhurst had not received a criminal subpoena, but he declined to give any details about his dealings with Escamilla’s office.
After Six Years, Texas Association Of Business Pleads Guilty To Campaign Finance Violations
October 21, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Six years after the Texas Association of Business broke the law to help Republicans steal the 2002 election and forever changed the Texas political landscape, the group has pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
TRMPAC Judges Took Money From TRMPAC Donors
September 23, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Breaking news from Texans for Public Justice:
The three GOP judges who went out of their way to rule for Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC) last month took 10 percent of the money for their most recent campaigns from donors who also financed TRMPAC. Twenty crossover donors gave $637,150 to TRMPAC and $119,825 to the TRMPAC justices.
Justice Alan Waldrop, who wrote the TRMPAC ruling, arguably owes his office to TRMPAC donors. With TRMPAC donors supplying 14 percent of his 2006 war chest, Waldrop won with just 51 percent of the vote. Justice Bob Pemberton won elections in 2004 and 2006 with less than 52 percent of the vote.1 TRMPAC donors supplied six percent of the money that he raised for those two campaigns.
Chief Justice Ken Law—who faces Democrat Woodie Jones in November—reported raising $106,122 through June 2008. TRMPAC donors supplied a striking 26 percent of Chief Law’s campaign “funds” to date.
Watchdog Group Alleges That Justice In DeLay Appeal Broke Campaign Finance Laws
September 17, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Texans for Public Justice filed a pair of complaints with Travis County Attorney David Escamilla and the Texas Ethics Commission today alleging that Third Court of Appeals Chief Justice W. Kenneth Law repeatedly violated the Texas Election Code in the course of his current reelection campaign. The alleged violations include illegally collecting more than $66,000 in political contributions without a duly appointed campaign treasurer and taking $10,000 from GOP Swift-Boat activist Harold Simmons—twice what the state Judicial Campaign Fairness Act permits.
You can view the criminal complaint here and the Ethics Commission complaint here.
More from the press release:
Test Post
September 3, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Please disregard this post. It is for testing purposes only. Thanks.
DeLay’s Lawyer Says He Should Be Cleared Because Laundering Involved Checks, Not Cash
August 26, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
[UPDATED: We've obtained a copy of the opinion, which can be found here.]
This should come, I suppose, as no surprise:
The attorney for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay predicts money laundering charges against his client would eventually be dismissed because the indictment is based on statutes that were not in place when the alleged conduct happened.
Dick DeGuerin said DeLay cannot be convicted because a 3rd Court of Appeals’ opinion on Friday said the law applied to cash, not checks, when the alleged laundering of corporate campaign donations occurred.
Does David Dewhurst Look Stupid Today? Yeah.
August 20, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Last week, when asked whether or not he disclosed all that was required of him about his personal finances under state laws, David Dewhurst dodged and weaved. Then, when asked if he would release his tax returns, he replied:
“We’re not going there. Do I look stupid today?” Dewhurst said during an hourlong exchange at the Capitol last week. “In Texas, we have a long tradition of not talking about the number of cattle you own or your net worth.”
So, does David Dewhurst look stupid? This morning he does, following a nice roasting by the Austin American-Statesman thanks to Dewhurst’s murky personal financial disclosure:
House Panel Votes To Hold Karl Rove In Contempt
July 30, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Wonder if this will hamper his fundraising efforts in Texas? More here, here, here, and here.
Oil Companies, Republican Party United In Corruption Long Before Stevens
July 30, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
In light of the news of the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) in a corruption scandal connected to the oil industry and the news that oil industry contributions gushed into the campaign of GOP Presidential candidate John McCain after the reversal of the ban on offshore oil drilling, we thought we’d take a minute to remind everyone that the connection between corrupt Republicans and the corrupt oil industry goes back farther than the Stevens scandal.
In particular, we wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone (kind of as a public service–just in case you’ve forgotten) that oil companies played dominant roles in Tom DeLay’s ethics violations connected with the 2005 GOP energy bill, his indictment connected with the 2002 Texas elections, his earmarks, and the Abramoff scandal.
