Playing through campaign finance laws, corporations are buying time with the House leader by donating to his foundations for abused kids. Meanwhile, the charities are spending more on the golf fundraisers than on the children.
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By Mark Benjamin
In the fundraising empire that has come to be known as "DeLay Inc.," few figures have been more central to filling the coffers than Warren RoBold. Last September, a Texas grand jury indicted RoBold and two other DeLay aides on charges of illegally raising political funds from corporations and funneling them through one of DeLay's political action committees.
At the same time that RoBold was suspected of laundering corporate money, prior to the 2002 elections, he also raised money for another DeLay PAC to help get the House GOP leader and other Republicans elected to Congress. But RoBold's fundraising duties for DeLay extended beyond the purely political. Tax records also show that back in early 2001, RoBold earned $50,000 to raise corporate donations for DeLay's nonprofit foundation for abused and neglected foster children.
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It should be said that DeLay and his wife Christine appear to be genuinely committed to helping abused and neglected children. The couple have helped raise three foster kids themselves. DeLay spokesman Dan Allen has always characterized DeLay's charity work as altruistic. "We understand the problems that plague the system and the needs of children that go unmet each day," DeLay and his wife wrote in a letter appearing on their Web site. "It is the mission of the DeLay Foundation for Kids to address the significant needs of abused and neglected children."
But so far, tax records show that DeLay's foundations have spent far more on golf fundraisers than on programs for children. (There are two foundations: The DeLay Foundation for Kids is one; it raises money for a second foundation, Rio Bend, a housing development under construction for foster children.) Over the past four fiscal years, DeLay's foundations have spent almost $600,000 on golf fundraisers at exotic retreats. That is more than seven times what DeLay has so far handed out to unrelated organizations that are actively helping kids, according to tax returns through the most recent filings of June 2004. Golf retreats are the only fundraising activity apparent on the foundations' tax returns.
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http://salon.com/news/feature/2005/05/02/delay/index.html
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