State Representative Sets Committee Hearing To Aide Business Partner

It’s no surprise that Republican members of the Texas House of Representatives will stoop to any low to help out well-moneyed campaign contributors and the religious right. Nevertheless, it seems as though Rep. Fred Brown (R-Bryan) has sunk to new depths among even his most corrupt colleagues by holding a hearing on oversight of a state board which is presently reviewing a complaint against his business partner.

Brown, chairman of the Regulatory Sub-Committee of the House Appropriations Committee, has called a hurried hearing for Tuesday in Austin to determine whether or not the Texas Medical Board has been too aggressive in policing the state’s physicians.

Brown, incidentally, is the business partner of Dr. Ryal H. Benson III, who has a disciplinary action pending before the board.

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Governor Has Cancelled Lobby Contracts, But TxDOT Continues To Use Same Firm

A few weeks ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry, in a meeting with Congressional Democrats, claimed that the state, through his office, had cut ties with two lobby firms tied to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

It has recently been reported, however, that the Texas Department of Transporatation has continued to maintain a contract with one of the two lobbying firms in spite of the Governor’s actions. The firm, The Federalist Group, employs Tom DeLay’s former chief of staff, Drew Maloney.

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TTC Company To Invest Heavily In Texas Newspapers?

The Texas Toll Party’s Sal Costello’s blog has brought this story to my attention about an Austrailian company purchasing a chain of newspapers that has many Texas publications.

Sal notes that Macquaire Media Groupe is a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank a and Cintra-Macquarie partner. Cintra, of course, is one of the companies involved in the Trans Texas Corridor. Many of the papers include papers that have included content critical of the TTC.

The sale isn’t final yet and is subject to FTC approval. But, it poses some interesting questions.

DeLay Knew Abramoff Funded European Golfing Excursion; Was Concerned About ‘Questions’

This Houston Chronicle article sheds more light on why Tom DeLay really decided to step down and announce he’d resign when he did:

Prosecutors have e-mails showing Rep. Tom DeLay’s office knew lobbyist Jack Abramoff had arranged the financing for the GOP leader’s controversial European golfing trip in 2000 and was concerned “if someone starts asking questions.”

Oh, my, my, my, my.  (And, hat tip to the dear reader who sent me the link to this story. (Big, Frank Sinatra-style-wink to you, gal!)
Of course, DeLay claimed that a “Republican advocacy group” paid for the 2000 trip he and some of his aides took to Scotland and England, even though he knew that Abramoff had helped finance the junket.  That’s bad news because Congressmen can’t accept free trips from lobbyists.
Here’s more:

The e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show DeLay’s staff asked Abramoff — not the advocacy group — to account for the costs that had to be legally disclosed on congressional travel forms. DeLay’s office was worried the group being cited as paying the costs might not even know about them, the e-mails state.

Abramoff’s team sought to low-ball the cost estimates and DeLay’s office ultimately reported to Congress a total that was a few thousand dollars lower than the one the lobbyist provided, the documents show.

“We should give them the most minimal numbers for cost of the hotel (do not include golf), food and plays,” Abramoff wrote two assistants at his Preston Gates lobbying firm in an e-mail from June 29, 2000. One of those assistants, Susan Ralston, now works for top White House adviser Karl Rove.

Wha what? Well, how’s that for keeping corruption all in the family. Mop up crap for DeLay, then mop up blood for Rove.

In a follow-up e-mail to Abramoff, Ralston reported she talked to DeLay’s then-deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, who suggested numbers that could be used as cost figures on the congressional travel report. Rudy had gone on the trip with his boss.

“Tony said: $6,800 for flights per person. $300 per night for hotel, $120 per day per person for meals, $500 per day for transportation,” Ralston wrote Abramoff. Abramoff’s credit card bill shows some costs were higher.

Federal prosecutors have secured the cooperation of Abramoff and Rudy, and are investigating whether DeLay filed false public reports to disguise the source and size of political donations, travel and other gifts he received from special interests. Several witnesses have been questioned in recent months about the Scotland trip e-mails.

Of course, there’s a simple explaination for all of this, according to the DeLay Camp:

DeLay’s lawyer said Friday he believes the congressman’s office asked Abramoff, instead of the GOP group, for the trip costs because the group’s top executive was on maternity leave. He noted Abramoff served as director for the group listed as paying for the trip.

“The way I read this was that staff was trying to get it right,” lawyer Richard Cullen said of the e-mails. “His (DeLay’s) goal and his marching orders to his staff was to do it correctly. And I think staff tried to do it correctly.”

Really? Well, the way I read it, the staff was trying to cover up and cover ass. Of course, I took off my blinders when I read the story. Furthermore, don’t you think this gal out on maternity leave had, oh, you know, a secretary, administrative assistant or deputy of some sort who just might be able to sashay down to her office and get the numbers herself?
More fun:
Abramoff’s credit card bills show the lobbyist initially charged tens of thousands of dollars in air fare for DeLay’s trip to his American Express card. Cullen said he believes the lobbyist consulted with an ethics expert before making the payments.
Damn. What was Abramoff making? The average person probably has misgivings about charging air fare to Disneyland for a family of four, but the Republicans have no problem whatsoever letting lobbyists fit the bill for European trips. Does anyone—anyone at all—realize that this is the kind of thing that’s wrong with the Republican Party? Let’s talk about the “Average American Family,” and then run out and use other people’s money to do stuff the “Average American Family” could never do—and do it by letting a lobbyist melt a hole in his American Express card. Please!

Texas Republicans Still Love Tom DeLay

Texas Republican money men like James Leininger are still giving cash to Tom DeLay, but now it’s going to his legal defense fund:

He raised $314,435 between January and March while awaiting trial on the Texas charges and spent $312,465, most of it on legal fees. In the previous three months, he raised $182,000 and spent $239,000.

One contributor was Houston home builder Bob Perry, the chief financial backer of Swift Boat Veterans of Truth, which campaigned against Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race. Perry and his wife Doylene contributed a total $10,000 to DeLay’s legal fund.

James Leininger and his wife Cecilia pitched in an equal amount. Leininger is a San Antonio doctor who advocates private school vouchers and backs like-minded politicians. Ex-Houston mayor Bob Lanier contributed $5,000.

…

Laser Shot Inc., a Stafford, Texas, producer of firearms simulators, contributed $5,000. Contributing an equal amount were BNSF Railway Co. of Topeka, Kan.; Panda Energy Management Inc. of Dallas; Maxxam Inc. of Houston and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. of North Carolina.

Where’s all that money going? He’s putting it out as fast as he’s taking it in:

DeLay paid $280,000 to lawyers, with $125,000 going to the Dallas office of the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani and $110,000 to Dick DeGuerin, a Houston attorney.

He spent about $18,000 on a Washington fundraiser.

Who rom Bracewell & Giuliani (formerly Bracewell & Patterson) is on DeLay’s legal defense team?

Another note: Damn. Dick DeGuerin is expensive. I know of attorneys who’ve received less for defending capital murder clients through trial on court appointments. What’s DeGuerin billing, like $5,000 an hour?

For fun, let’s speculate on what DeGuerin’s charging.

So, $110,000. We don’t know if that’s for three months, six months, or what, but it really doesn’t matter if we divide it up per hour. So, at $110,000 per hour, DeGuerin worked (keep in mind this doesn’t include fees for stuff attorneys who bill by the hour typically charge for including tavel expenses, filing fees if applicable, copies, etc. For the purpose of this bit of fun, we’re assuming the $110,000 represents purely billable attorney work.):

If DeGuerin’s fee was $250 per hour, DeLay was billed for 440 hours of legal work. Putting that into perspective, 440 hours is equivelant to 18.3 24-hour calendar days.
If DeGuerin’s fee was $350 per hour, DeLay was billed for about 313 hours of legal work, equivelant to about 13 days.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $450 per hour, DeLay was billed for about  244.44 hours, or about 10 days.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $500 per hour, DeLay was billed for about 220 hours, or 9.16 days.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $750 per hour, DeLay was billed for about  146.6 hours, or six days.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $900 per hour, DeLay was billed for about  122.22 hours, or about five days.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $1,000 per hour, DeLay was billed for 110 hours, or about four and a half days.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $1,500 per hour, DeLay was billed for  73.3 hours.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $2,000 per hour, DeLay was billed for about  55 hours.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $2,500 per hour, DeLay was billed for about  44 hours.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $3,500 per hour, DeLay was billed for about 31.4 hours.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $4,500 per hour, DeLay was billed for about  24.4 hours.

If DeGuerin’s fee was $5,000 per hour, DeLay was billed for about  22 hours of work.

Of course, we have no idea if DeGuerin bills differently for court time vs. research time vs. phone call time or what, so it’s all pure speculation. But, it is fun speculation. You could also assume that any of the above amounts per hour represented the average amount DeGuerin’s firm billed DeLay per hour.

Bell Asks For Investigation Of Perry, Texans For Taxpayer Relief

Chris Bell has requested that the Travis County DA’s office start a criminal investigation to determine whether or not Texans for Taxpayer Relief’s radio ads constitute an in-kind officeholder contribution illegally paid for by corporate funds that Perry and his people have evidently helped raise.

In a letter to the DA, Bell wrote:

“Corporate funds appear to be funding ads to further an officeholder activity of Governor Perry, raising serious legal issues.”

Via Rick Perry’s Flickr Album, you can see pics from a tax relief rally at the capitol, like the one at left.

In a press release from the Bell camp, he also noted:

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It’s On To The CCA For DeLay Case

Now that the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin has upheld the dismissal of a felony count of conspiracy against disgased ex-House Majority Leader and soon-to-be-ex-congressman Tom DeLay, I expect that we’ll see an appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals fairly soon.

Somewhere around the Texas Blogsphere, I know there is a piece that a fellow blogger has done on the panel that heard the DeLay case. But, since I’m on the road with the laptop, I can’t find it right now. I someone recalls the piece I’m talking about, please leave it in the comments.

Poor Tom DeLay: His Friends Just “Abused” Him

It seems as though conservatives are now trying to paint Tom DeLay as a victim, abused by friends and aides. Via Texas Conservative Review:

Tom was like most of us, trying to do his best and at times got abused by his so called friends and aides (i.e. Abramoff et al).

He helped bring the GOP into the majority and accomplished much, but it was time for him to move on. Tom did not want to be a distraction. He will be missed.

Is it just me, or do others of you have trouble swallowing this nonsense?

Full Text Of DeLay’s Remarks

The Houston Chronicle has up the full text of DeLay’s remarks this morning. Here’s my commentary:

Since I first asked for your votes for Congress back in 1984, America has moved closer to, not further from, the “shining city on a hill” that he so magnificently described.

She has risen from malaise, won a cold war and a few hot ones, and liberated hundreds of millions across Europe and tens of millions of Afghans and Iraqis.

Well, maybe…no. I’m not surprised DeLay mentioned the “shining city on a hill” remark. It’s just that DeLay and his cronies have led this country in the wrong direction: neglecting the poor and needy, neglecting education, trying to corrupt Social Security.

We adopted year after year of tax relief, which led to growth so strong it has not only propelled our economy, but has spurred economic growth across the globe.

You gave tax relief to the rich, presided over a national economic climate that fostered Enron and Tyco, and drained the surplus.

We reformed welfare, moving tens of millions of good Americans from poverty to work and opportunity.

We passed litigation reform, to begin freeing our economy from the shackles of frivolous lawsuits.

You helped make the poor poorer, and help shut millions of Americans out of our courtrooms and prevent them from receiving appropriate compensation for their injuries.

And the new Supreme Court is home to two of the finest young jurists of their generation.

You mean two of the most far-right-wing minds of their generation?

In the same vein, I also have been proud to make whatever contribution I could to the conservative movement to which I feel so strongly connected and the enduring national conservative majority that has been transforming our nation for the past decade.

Your majority has tried to destroy everything that has made this country great. I wouldn’t brag about it.

It’s time to begin opening new chapters and pursuing new opportunities to engage in the important cultural and political battles of our day from outside the arena of the U.S. House of Representatives.

You mean six-figure speaking fees and perhaps a little preachin’ at the local Baptist church?

Because I care so deeply about this district and the people in it, I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative, personal campaign.

You mean like you stole the elections of Max Sandlin, Charles Stenholm, etc., et al?

The voters of the 22nd District of Texas deserve a campaign about the vital national issues that they care most about and that affect their lives every day, and not a campaign focused solely as a referendum on me.

Then, perhaps you should have quit BEFORE THE PRIMARY.

With that plan in mind, I also intend to relocate to my Virginia property and reside closer to Washington, so that I can dedicate the necessary time and energy to making a successful transition from the public to private sectors for myself and family.

Translated: If I move to Virginia, I can make millions lobbying and won’t hurt Texas Republicans so much.

Tom DeLay: Digesting The Story

The Tom DeLay resignation and possible special election will no doubt dominate most of the next several news cycles for the MainStreamMedia. For those of us in the Blogsphere, digesting the same and keeping track of the facts, rumors and various replacement scinarios will be an important task.

Taking a look around Texas media this morning, I think the Houston Chronicle has the most complete coverage.

First, check out this story, DeLay to Announce Resignation from House. Some snippits:

A formal announcement of DeLay’s plans was expected Tuesday at a Houston news conference. Early Tuesday morning, DeLay emerged from his nearby Sugar Land home, greeted reporters and photographers but did not respond to questions. “I’ll see y’all later,” DeLay said, as he got into a waiting car and was driven away.

A formal announcement of DeLay’s plans was expected Tuesday at a news conference in Houston. In a video statement made available to television news networks late Monday, DeLay blamed “liberal Democrats” for making his re-election campaign largely a negative one.

“I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative personal campaign,” DeLay said. “The voters of the 22nd district of Texas deserve a campaign about the vital national issues that they care most about and that affect their lives every day and not a campaign focused solely as a referendum on me.”

Next, check out “DeLay Expected To Step Aside.” Here’s an interesting paragraph from that story that gives some insight into what’s going on in CD 22 right now:

The shocking move creates a weird scramble for his seat in the burgeoning suburbs south of Houston. The state Republican Executive Committee or the party chairmen in the counties in the 22nd Congressional District will get to nominate a candidate for the November general election, officials said. But first may come a special election to select someone to fill the remainder of DeLay’s term through the end of the year.

And, then, “Possible Contenders Emerge For DeLay Seat“:

Those who acknowledged interest in the seat or were mentioned as contenders included Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, state Rep. Robert Talton, Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs and former State District Judge John Devine.

Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill said he started receiving calls from interested officials within minutes of hearing the news of DeLay’s decision.

“Numerous people have called me inquiring about the seat,” he said.

Other phones also were ringing as politicians gauged potential support or heard from backers.

“I’ve had a number of calls this evening. I’ll visit with my family and look at the process,” Eckels said. “I do have an interest in at least looking at the race.”

He said that his experience coordinating the local response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left him frustrated with the federal government and its impact on local issues.

Sekula-Gibbs, who lives in Clear Lake, said she has received several calls from local Republicans asking her if she would be interested in the seat.

“I’m saddened that the congressman has decided to step down, but I’m interested in the position,” she said. “I’m definitely giving it very serious consideration.”

A special election to fill the remainder of DeLay’s term likely will be held on the next uniform election date, which is in May. Gov. Rick Perry will set the date.

Wallace said he plans to run for the unexpired term.

It was unclear Monday night how Republicans will select a November nominee to replace DeLay, who won the GOP primary in March.

“We’ve never had this happen in a congressional race,” Woodfill said. “We’ll have a little bit of time to figure it out. We have our lawyers looking at it.”

At issue is whether the responsibility for selecting a nominee falls to the 62-member state Republican Executive Committee or to the five GOP county chairs in the 22nd Congressional District.

DeLay is expected to resign officially sometime after April 7 and move to Virginia to work with a conservative organization. That would make him ineligible to run despite his nomination, opening the way for party officials to select another nominee, Woodfill said.

…

Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson is the Democratic nominee for the seat. Lampson’s campaign manager Mike Malaise said Lampson’s plans have not changed.

“Our challenge was always to get Nick’s message out there,” Malaise said. “We’ve got $2.5 million in the bank to help us do that. The other side is going to be playing catch-up to us in that regard.”

“We don’t know who our opponent will be. It’s unrealistic to say that Republicans have it in the bag.”

And then, of course, look at the DeLay chronology.

And, here is some national coverage: Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Time (and Q&A here), New York Times, The Hill.

And, around Texas: Austin American Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Tyler Morning Telegraph, El Paso Times, Galveston County Daily News, Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

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