Tom DeLay campaign finance trial
Ronnie Earle, the Democratic then-District Attorney of Travis County (which includes the state capital of Austin), sought the indictment of Tom DeLay in 2005.
[1] An arrest warrant was issued on October 19, and DeLay turned himself in the next day to the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Houston.
[8] In the reapportionment following the 1990 Census, Texas Democrats drew what Republican political analyst Michael Barone argued was the most effective partisan gerrymander in the country.
The Democrats won 70 percent of the Texas congressional seats in 1992, the first year in which the new districts were in effect, while taking half of the total number of votes cast for Congress statewide.
As a result the new district lines were drawn by a three judge federal court panel that made as few changes as possible while adding the two new seats.
The new map that was adopted by the Republican-dominated board gave the Republicans an edge in winning the Texas House of Representatives, still controlled at that time by the Democrats.
In October 2002, TRMPAC made contributions, through several channels, to Nelson Balido of San Antonio ($2,000), Byron Cook of Corsicana ($2,000), Wayne Christian of Center ($2,000), Rick Green of Dripping Springs ($2,000), and Eddie Shauberger of Liberty ($2,000), among others.
[citation needed] On May 26, 2005, a Texas judge ruled that a committee formed by DeLay had violated state law by not disclosing over $600,000 worth of fundraising money, mostly from the credit card industry, including $25,000 from Sears, Roebuck & Co.,[11] and $50,000 from Diversified Collections Services of San Leandro.
[12] Some of the money was spent on manning phone banks and posting wanted posters on Federal Highways calling for the arrest of Democratic legislators with an 800 number to the Texas Department of Public Safety to call if seen after the Democratic caucus left for Oklahoma in order to prevent the redistricting legislation from passing.
[citation needed] In 2005, the Federal Election Commission audited DeLay's national political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC).
The FEC found that ARMPAC had failed to report $322,306 in debts owed to vendors, and that it had incorrectly paid for some committee expenses using funds from an account designated for non-federal elections.
ARMPAC corrected the omission of the debts in amended reports, and is reviewing the portion of the audit dealing with incorrect payment for expenses.
Joe Turner, who represented Colyandro, stated he did not want a jury trial in Austin, because "DeLay and Republicans are hated [there]".
Due to Republican party rules regarding leadership and indictments, DeLay stepped down from his position as House Majority Leader.
"[35] White House spokesman Scott McClellan commented by saying that President Bush still viewed DeLay as "a good ally, a leader who we have worked closely with to get things done for the American people."
DeLay's lawyers claimed that, in 2002, the crime of conspiracy did not apply to Texas election law, and maintained the corporate donations came from normal and legal business activity.
