So Representative Thomas DeLay (R-TX), the House Majority Leader, has been accused of campaign finance conspiracy, and has stepped down to fight the charges...well guess what! The Democrats did the same thing. And it is LEGAL! From Stephen Spruiell’s Media Blog on NRO:
The indictment centers around a money swap that took place between the Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC), to which DeLay has ties, and the Republican National State Elections Committee (RNSEC). TRMPAC sent $190,000 to RNSEC, and RNSEC then sent the same total amount in seven checks ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 to Texas House candidates in 2002. Travis County DA Ronnie Earle, a Democrat, calls this money laundering, because the money that TRMPAC sent to RNSEC came from corporations, which are barred from contributing to campaigns in Texas.
What you won’t hear in the press is that A) This is a perfectly legal move, and B) the Democrats did the exact same thing. An Institute on Money in State Politics study reveals that on Oct. 31, 2002, the Texas Democratic Party did the same thing when it sent $75,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and received $75,000 back from the DNC the very same day.
DA Ronnie Earle has investigated other politicians on both sides of the aisle. He indicted Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson in 1994 for records tampering and official misconduct, but Earle did not pursue the case and dropped the charges before trial. Once it’s known that the Dems also “laundered” their campaign finances like the Republicans, I envision charges against DeLay to be dropped as well.










