Prosecutors said the corporate money collected by DeLay’s PAC was routed through the RNC. They said the money helped Republicans in 2002 take control of the Texas House. That majority allowed Republicans to push through a congressional redistricting plan engineered by DeLay that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004, prosecutors said.
During the trial, DeLay’s attorneys argued that a money swap resulted in seven candidates legally getting donations. They also argued that while DeLay gave his name to the PAC, he had little to do with its operation.
DeLay was once one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, but the criminal charges in Texas, as well as a separate federal investigation of his ties to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, ended his 22-year political career representing suburban Houston.
The Justice Department ended its federal investigation into DeLay’s ties to Abramoff without filing any charges.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Jerry Seper is the investigative editor for The Washington Times.
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