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Source:DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 24, 2005; Page A01
The airfare to London and Scotland in 2000 for then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was charged to an American Express card issued to Jack Abramoff, a Washington lobbyist at the center of a federal criminal and tax probe, according to two sources who know Abramoff's credit card account number and to a copy of a travel invoice displaying that number.
DeLay's expenses during the same trip for food, phone calls and other items at a golf course hotel in Scotland were billed to a different credit card also used on the trip by a second registered Washington lobbyist, Edwin A. Buckham, according to receipts documenting that portion of the trip.
House ethics rules bar lawmakers from accepting travel and related expenses from registered lobbyists. DeLay, who is now House majority leader, has said that his expenses on this trip were paid by a nonprofit organization and that the financial arrangements for it were proper. He has also said he had no way of knowing that any lobbyist might have financially supported the trip, either directly or through reimbursements to the nonprofit organization.
The documents obtained by The Washington Post, including receipts for his hotel stays in Scotland and London and billings for his golfing during the trip at the famed St. Andrews course in Scotland, substantiate for the first time that some of DeLay's expenses on the trip were billed to charge cards used by the two lobbyists. The invoice for DeLay's plane fare lists the name of what was then Abramoff's lobbying firm, Preston Gates & Ellis.
26 X World Champs said:Today's Washington Post reports what was already suspected, that Tom DeLay is in deep sh*t.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12416-2005Apr23.html
OK! So now there's physical evidence that DeLay has violated Congressional Ethics Rules. Where do we go from here? Isn't it time that DeLay, at the very least step down as the GOP leader of the House?
Actually, from a Democratice point of view, at this point the longer he stays, the more bad press will be written about him. This can only help Democrats. I say let him stay! He's a great advocate for Democrats. He's the perfect example of what's unpopular in the GOP/Religious Right. He's our poster boy!
I would like to know what everyone else thinks? Stay or Go?
Please do not bring up Democrats or other Republicans who might fall into a similiar bind. This is about DeLay, and what should be done about him. If there are other members of Congress who have similiar problems they should be treated exactly the same way as DeLay.
Do you know that 99% of Congressmen running for reelection win? How does that happen? Isn't that an incredible stat? I recall how phony we thought the last Saddam election was in Iraq when he "won" 100% of the vote (my favorite election of all time!).Pacridge said:The American voters are idiots to keep re-electing the same the guys over and over again. Esp. after they start taking huge cash sums from lobbyist and special interested. And they all do it. Once they start that they certainly don’t have our interest at heart.
pwo said:Let Delay stay. He should stay quiet then let the democrats make a big deal about it while he remains cool. The will look like an angry mob, while he looks like someone just trying to do his job.
Incumbents for congress win 99% of the time because of a little thing called "gerrymandering". The state legislatures draw the districts every ten years after the census is taken. Whoever is in the majority in the state draws the districts unfair so they can get the most possible people from their party reelected. So, most of the races are unfair. Some even unimposed.
sebastiansdreams said:This may be a stupid question, but do we have any other cases of this happening and if so what happened to them? If not, I guess it's time to set a standard.
pwo said:Hmmmm.....I guess I haven't really been watching the news, because I thought that Delay has been quite about the whole situation. Are you sure, he has been on the news, blaming other people? It might just have been other republicans blaming dems, judges, Schivo case, etc.
We all know that nothing to bad is probably going to happen to Delay, so let congress get back to running the country. If your gonna kick him out, just do it already. I agree with you Parcridge. :clap:
The scary thing is I was only have joking!Pacridge said:"DeLay should resign & go to work for Fox News Channel"
I didn't see this choice that's funny. Maybe then it would finnaly be "Fair and Balanced"
That wasn't why the rules were changed. The reason was because there were too many (over 50, at least) false, partisan, complaints about Newt Gingrich. They wasted a lot of time, and used taxpayers money to investigate non-issues. They simply wanted to ensure that a complaint was legitimate, and needed investigation, by requiring a super majority vote.But Delay was able to get his party to change the rules for him to extend his BS, so that was nice for him.
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