Supporters come to DeLay's defense with $1.1 million

[Judi Lynn]

Supporters come to DeLay's defense with $1.1 million

Individuals, companies, trade groups give to fund fighting mounting ethics questions

09:42 PM CDT on Thursday, April 28, 2005

By TODD J. GILLMAN and JIM LANDERS / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON – Larry Stigers' business in Frankfort, Ky., buys and sells used trucks. He's given tens of thousands of dollars to Kentucky Democrats. Yet last summer, at the urging of local congressman Hal Rogers, he donated $5,000 to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's legal defense fund.

"The guy was in trouble. ... If Hal says he's a good man, he's a good man," Mr. Stigers said of his congressman, who was collecting chits in a bid to chair the powerful Appropriations Committee. "Politics is politics. ... You scratch my back to get yours scratched."

From the Kentucky congressman to huge corporations, contributors to the Tom DeLay Legal Expense Trust have sought help from the majority leader or hope to tap his good will in the future. Most of the $1.1 million raised over the last five years has come from individuals, companies and trade groups with keen legislative interests, including the maker of a controversial gasoline additive and tobacco firms Mr. DeLay has tried to shield from international litigation.

Such donors have given far more to other units of the DeLay money machine, including committees he set up to elect Republicans to state and federal office. But campaign finance experts view a defense fund as an especially personal way to curry favor or say thanks. The money has helped Mr. DeLay confront a series of challenges – a since-dismissed racketeering suit filed by Democrats and several House ethics investigations.
(snip/...)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/042905dnnatdefensefund.588fdd30.html
(Free registration is required)

[Solly Mack]

1. Unreal. He's in trouble for taking gifts for favor

and his defense fund is made up of more gifts for favor

[MontageOfFreedom]

2. By all means let it happen....

The prosecuting attorneys and investigators love nothing more than for DeLay to use his corrupt companies in the fund, because the companies are part of the ethics violations he's entangled inside of.

http://houseofscandal.org

An albatross with wings wider than the pacific-atlantic.

[DeaconBlues]

3. Let them waste their money

Delay will go down no matter what. There is not enough polish in the world to put a shine on that turd.

[thebigidea]

4. ... and it will transferred according to his specifications:

... in crumpled brown bags left in a dumpster behind a Quick-Check at 3am.

[TahitiNut]

5. In March alone, DeLay's ARM Pac spread $144,010 to 15 GOP House members

It's part of a huge money-laundering machine.

April 27, 2005 | Dogged by numerous allegations of ethical wrongdoing and the increasing likelihood of a congressional investigation, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is showing no sign of slowing his campaign contributions to fellow Republican House members.

DeLay contributed $144,010 to 15 GOP House members from his leadership political action committee in March, according to records filed this month with the Federal Election Commission. Eleven of the 15 members won election last year with 55 percent of the vote or less. Six of them are freshmen.

The contributions from DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority PAC went to the members’ campaign accounts, except for $5,000 that was given to the People for Enterprise, Trade and Economic Growth PAC, the leadership committee of Texas Rep. Pete Sessions.

DeLay is well known for his generous giving to Republican lawmakers and candidates. Since 1999, ARMPAC has contributed more than $3 million to federal GOP candidates, $2.6 million of which has gone to House candidates. DeLay topped all other members of Congress in the 2004 election cycle with more than $986,000 in contributions to federal candidates from ARMPAC and his campaign committee. Of that, $920,000 went to 111 GOP House candidates while another $59,000 went to nine Republican Senate candidates.

<more>

[hector459]

6. Anyone who 'donates' to Tom DeLay deserves to have their money wasted.

Bet they wouldn't give a dime to a needy family in their district.

[NVMojo]

7. DeLay has got to be on of the biggest pigs at the trough I've ever seen ..

[Toucano]

8. Unreal! n/t

[Straight Shooter]

9. "If Hal says he's a good man, he's a good man."

"If Hal says bush is god, then bush is god."

"If Hal says he should date my daughter, then he should date my daughter."

This man owns a company that is profitable enough to give "tens of thousands of dollars" to Democrats? Which Democrats? When? And how did they scratch his back? This article is too weird.

Anyway, DeLay will need many millions more before it's all over.

[Shallah Kali]

14. I can't find any donations by Stigers in OpenSecrets.org

http://opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?NumOfThou=0&txtName=Stigers&txtState=%28all+states%29&txtZip=&txtEmploy=&txtCand=&txt2004=Y&txt2002=Y&txt2000=Y&Order=N

[Shallah Kali]

16. All donations to DeLays Fund as of January -

in PDF
http://www.citizen.org/documents/Anaylsis%20of%20Contribution%20Records%202-1-05.pdf

HTML
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:RHERmO_rE5EJ:www.citizen.org/documents/Anaylsis%2520of%2520Contribution%2520Records%25202-1-05.pdf+&hl=en

There is alot of politicans who donated to his fund. Must be nice for him to be owed so much by so many.

[leesa]

15. The problem with Americans. Too lazy to check things out themselves.

Pathetic, eh?

[NYC Liberal]

17. Meet "Joe Sixpack" - this is what we're up against n/t

[Roland99]

10. $1.1 million could have kept little Sun Hudson alive a lot longer

than it will DeLay.

[Roland99]

11. I hate my state more and more

:(

[gratuitous]

12. $1.1 million isn't really very much

Considering the very high-priced legal talent DeLay is going to need to fix all of his troubles, $1.1 million isn't very much money. That sounds odd, but it's quite true.

DeLay's legendary fundraising abilities should have netted him easily 10 to 20 times this amount; the fact that he's gotten only $1.1 million should be a great big flashing red signal that his fat cat bankrollers are losing interest in him.

[mbee]

13. Unbelievable, just read in the newspaper that $500,000, according

to the report, was given by him to his wife and daughter.
Why doesn't he just use that money and stop taking more? The Democrats should have a field day with these wasteful people. wasting taxpayer's money.

[VegasWolf]

18. 1.1 mil is nothing for the corp lobbyists. They must know Delay is dead.