Another loss for Tom DeLay and Republicans....the appeals court has ruled he must stay on the November ballot.

by TChris

Barring a successful appeal, Tom DeLay's name must stay on the ballot as the GOP candidate for the congressional seat he abandoned. It's widely assumed that DeLay, despite the distraction of a pending indictment, will campaign for the seat if that decision isn't overturned, but Roll Call (by way of Raw Story) reports that DeLay has been spending his campaign funds on lawyers, leaving him with little cash on hand to mount a campaign.

DeLay has only $641,000 in his campaign account, compared to $2.2 million available to the Democratic candidate, Nick Lampson. And DeLay's need for money to solve his legal woes won't end soon.

With legal bills still mounting -- DeLay faces a local trial later this year on campaign finance charges and the probe of ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff continues -- he was originally expected to use all his leftover funds to pay a legal team that now includes lawyers from nine different firms.

Tom DeLay may have won the primary Tuesday, but his main battle is still in the Texas criminal courts:

Prosecutors pursuing conspiracy and money laundering charges against Rep. Tom DeLay on Wednesday sought campaign finance documents from a decade-old congressional campaign in East Texas. The subpoena requests documents that name contributions from businessman Peter F. Cloeren, who pleaded guilty to directing illegal corporate money into Republican Brian Babin's 1996 campaign for Congress.

In an affidavit signed in 1998, Cloeren said DeLay urged him to evade campaign finance laws and funnel more money than legally allowed into the Babin campaign. DeLay denied the accusation.

One thing DeLay must be coming to grips with is that when the government decides to bring its awesome power down on you, no matter how much money you have to fund your defense, they always have the edge. If anyone can beat the Government, I believe it's Dick DeGuerin, but at some point, all those other politicians and businessmen who did business with him and his staffers are going to "tell the government's truth" if the alternative is an indictment or a longer jail sentence for themselves.

Reuters reports that Tom DeLay is trailing in his Texas race for re-election to the House.

Embattled Republican Tom DeLay trails a Democratic challenger for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and is viewed favorably by only 28 percent of people questioned in a poll of his Houston area district, the Houston Chronicle said in its online edition on Saturday. The survey of 560 registered voters conducted Tuesday through Thursday found 30 percent favored former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, a Democrat, compared with 22 percent for DeLay, who has represented the district for 22 years.

The Houston Chronicle reports on a poll finding that only half the people who voted for him in 2004 would do so again in 2006.

Overall, about a third blame DeLay's troubles on his own behavior, and a fourth blame "a culture of corruption in Washington."

One more indictment -- such as over the Abramoff embroglio-- and I say he's toast. [graphic created exclusively for TalkLeft by CL.)

by TChris

Tom DeLay had hoped that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals would agree that he should be tried on a pending money laundering charge immediately. A prompt acquittal might have given him a chance to resume a meaningful (i.e., disastrous) role in Congress despite his decision to relinquish his leadership position. DeLay’s slim hopes were dashed today, however, as the Court of Criminal Appeals refused to give him his requested relief.

Tom DeLay's chances of recapturing his House leadership position dropped dramatically today when several Republicans in the House asked for new elections to be held promptly.

"It's clear that we need to elect a new majority leader to restore the trust and confidence of the American people," said Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, as two fellow Republicans circulated a petition calling for new elections.

Who's on tap?

Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, who took over as majority leader temporarily when DeLay stepped aside following his indictment on state charges, is certain to run for the post if new elections are held. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, a former member of the leadership, is his likeliest rival, and there may be other contenders as well.

Texas DA Ronnie Earle, who is prosecuting Tom DeLay, has subpoenaed a multitude of documents in the Abramoff investigation.

In the Texas case, Earle sought records from Abramoff's former employers, legal firms Greenberg Traurig LLP and Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, LLP. He also subpoenaed records from a lawyer for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a former Abramoff client, and from a representative for the Barona Band of Mission Indians, a California tribe.

DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin said Earle "goes where the fish bite." "Ronnie Earle is an opportunist," DeGuerin said. "He issues subpoenas to try to make a connection between his case and the latest scandal, whatever it happens to be. The Abramoff thing is the latest he's doing. It has nothing to do with the case in Texas. Nothing. Zip."

Here's what Earle is seeking:

Update: Abramoff's lawyer Neal Sonnett told CNN Abramoff will plead guilty in the Florida case tomorrow. The charges there pertain to Abramoff and Adam Kidan allegedly falsifying a $23 million wire transfer in order to obtain a $60 million loan to purchase SunCruz Casinos, a fleet of offshore gambling boats.

Update: The Plea Agreement in the Washington case is now available here. (pdf)

Some quick notes: The agreement binds only the Public Integrity Section and Fraud Section of the Criminal Division and the Tax Division of the Department of Justice. It does not bind any other prosecutors or agencies. It does not bind the Civil Division of the IRS. Restitution to victims is set at $25 million. He will pay 1.7 million restitution to the Criminal Division of the IRS for his tax evasion, and this will be used to offset any civil tax liability for 2001 to 2003, but there is no promise that he won't owe them more. He cannot transfer assets to avoid paying restitution, but he does not need permission to use his assets for living expenses, business expenses or attorneys' fees.

His guidelines come out at level 31 (108 to 135 months), including his three point reduction for acceptance of responsibility. For his cooperation, he will receive an as yet unspecified reduction. The Government is recommending that any sentence in the D.C. case be concurrent with the sentence he receives in Florida.

Assuming his guidelines in Florida are not higher than those in the D.C. case, it looks like Abramoff got a great deal. A cooperation reduction of between 25 and 50% is not unusual. Doing the math, he could come out with a sentence between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 years if the Government went with a 50% reduction.(edited to reflect 3 point reduction included in guideline computation)

A reader at Josh Marshall's TPM made a good catch. Last night's Associated Press article on Jack Abramoff's impending plea deal said:

Abramoff’s cooperation would be a boon to an ongoing Justice Department investigation of congressional corruption, possibly helping prosecutors build criminal cases against up to 20 lawmakers and their staff members.

Overnight it was changed to:

Abramoff's cooperation would be a boon to an ongoing Justice Department investigation of congressional corruption, possibly helping prosecutors build criminal cases against up to 20 lawmakers of both parties and their staff members. (enphasis added.)

As for whether Abramoff will try to take down Democrats as well as Republicans, I'd look to whom he blames most for his current predicament. As he's now having his come-to-jesus moment with the all but inevitability of his spending the next several years in a federal prison, don't count out simple revenge. Who didn't help him when they should have, who let him crash and burn, who dropped him like a hot-potato, and who tried to save their hide at his expense?

This is hardly a surprise, but lobbyist Jack Abramoff reportedly is engaged in serious plea negotiations with the Government. One reason: He says he's broke and can't afford extended trials. His Miami trial is set for January 9. He is also the subject of a Washington grand jury investigation. If he takes a deal, he will provide cooperation against members of Congress and others in exchange for a reduced sentence.

At issue is the complicated structure of the case against Mr. Abramoff. In August, he was indicted by federal prosecutors in Miami on charges of fraud stemming from his purchase of a fleet of casino boats in 2000. He pleaded not guilty in that case, and his lawyers say they are preparing him to stand trial. Mr. Abramoff has also been under investigation here in connection with his lobbying. No charges have been brought against him in that inquiry. The existence of what amounts to two separate but overlapping investigations partly explains why the plea negotiations for Mr. Abramoff have been so protracted and tough, said people with inside knowledge of the case.

Here's another aspect of the investigation that is bound to make some folks nervous:

Was Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle unlawfully present during the second grand jury's deliberations on Tom DeLay? DeLay's defense team thinks so - it has subpoenaed grand jurors to a Dec. 27 hearing on its motion to dismiss for prosecutorial misconduct:

State law prohibits prosecutors from attending grand jury deliberations, but the defense alleges that Earle unlawfully participated in the second grand jury's deliberations and tried to force those grand jurors to indict DeLay. Earle denies the allegations. Grand jury testimony is secret and Earle does not have to release transcripts unless he's ordered to by a court, so the defense has asked Senior Judge Pat Priest to allow the grand jurors to testify.

DeLay's lawyer, Dick Deguerin said he has other evidence and the grand jurors' testimony doesn't make or break the case, but it's very significant.

[Hat tip to Tom at Opinions You Should Have]

The Judge in the Tom DeLay case dealt another setback to DeLay's attempt to get an early trial date, making it more and more unlikely he will be able to reclaim his House leadership position.

In a letter to DeLay's attorneys Wednesday, Senior Judge Pat Priest said he'll be working on other cases and won't be available until Dec. 27 to take up pending motions in DeLay's case stemming from a 2002 campaign finance scheme.