Tom Delay

The criminal case against Tom DeLay now hinges on two money-laundering charges after Texas' highest criminal court refused Wednesday to bring back a conspiracy charge. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 5 to 4 against reinstating a count of conspiracy to violate the election code. The former House majority leader resigned last year amid allegations that he violated campaign finance laws to funnel $190,000 in corporate contributions to Republicans in the state's 2002 legislative elections.

\o7"Lawful lobbying does not include paying a public official a personal benefit with the understanding -- explicit or implicit -- that a certain official act will occur. That's not lobbying; that's a crime." \f7 Alice Fisher, Justice Department official * To many, the scandal surrounding fallen super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has the ring of business as usual.

Pressure mounted Thursday on former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to abandon his plan to reclaim his Republican leadership post, with one conservative saying the Texan's legal woes and links to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff had made him a political liability. "Sooner or later, self-interest creeps in," said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). "Here is the threshold question that my colleagues will be asking themselves: How many would today accept a contribution from Mr.

A coalition of conservative and moderate Republican lawmakers launched a revolt Friday against Rep. Tom DeLay, petitioning for a House GOP leadership election that would block the Texan's hope of reclaiming the post of majority leader. The move indicated how quickly DeLay's broad and deep support among Republicans had collapsed following this week's guilty pleas by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, once a close DeLay associate, in a federal probe into possible congressional corruption.

Rep. Tom DeLay's decision to stop battling for his former House leadership job helps remove a huge distraction from Republican efforts to recover from a stormy 2005 that put President Bush and the party on the defensive. But DeLay's Saturday announcement that he was giving up his bid may create as many problems as it solves. It has set off a divisive power struggle to succeed him as the House's permanent majority leader -- and could spark the overthrow of other leaders.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, indicted in Texas last fall and under scrutiny in a blossoming political scandal on Capitol Hill, abandoned on Saturday his effort to regain his leadership post. His decision touched off a race to succeed him in a Republican Party beset by ethics problems. And it followed days of political turmoil and soul-searching within the GOP, sparked by Tuesday's guilty pleas to corruption-related charges by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, once a close DeLay associate.

The contest to succeed Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) as House majority leader appeared to shape up as a two-man race Monday, as Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) and another possible contender announced they would not run for the powerful No. 2 position. That apparently leaves the field to two senior Republicans -- Roy Blunt of Missouri and John A. Boehner of Ohio -- to compete for support from fellow House Republicans, who will choose DeLay's successor in a secret ballot election the week of Jan. 30.

Republican Tom DeLay trails a Democratic challenger for his seat in the House and is viewed favorably by 28% of those people questioned in a poll of his Houston-area congressional district, the Houston Chronicle reported. The survey found 30% favored former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, a Democrat, compared with 22% for DeLay, who has represented the district for 22 years. The two are expected to square off in the November election.

For a core of conservatives, the race to replace Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) as House majority leader is not just about who will help guide the party, but about what the GOP should be. These conservatives, long disillusioned by the Republican drift toward backing big government spending and approving local improvement projects known as earmarks, hope that whoever wins Thursday's three-way contest to succeed DeLay will do far more than help reform congressional ethics and lobbying rules.

One of three Republicans vying to replace Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) as House majority leader offered rare public criticism Tuesday of House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), saying he disagreed with key elements of Hastert's plan to overhaul the chamber's ethics rules. Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) questioned Hastert's call for a ban on travel by House members and their staffs paid for by private groups, indicating he considered such a proposal "childish."