Replies

Add'l Article - TAB
###

Ruling Diminishes Likelihood DeLay Regains Leader's Post
CNN poll shows over half of the voters in his House district feel he likely broke law

By SAMANTHA LEVINE and MICHAEL HEDGES, Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
Dec. 5, 2005, 11:24PM

WASHINGTON - Just hours before he was to be feted by Vice President Dick Cheney at a Houston fundraising event for his re-election campaign, Rep. Tom DeLay learned that the race will remain under a legal cloud.

Also, a Texas judge's Monday ruling upholding money-laundering charges against DeLay sharply diminished his chances of regaining his majority leader post in the House early next year.

And the longer the legal process takes, the more likely it is that DeLay could permanently lose the powerful job, experts said.

House Republicans likely will move to hold leadership elections in late January or February to replace DeLay, according to senior aides who spoke on condition of anonymity because of DeLay's power in Congress and the preliminary nature of the plans.

DeLay, a Republican from Sugar Land, had to step aside as majority leader when he was indicted by a Travis County grand jury. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri took his place.

DeLay, for his part, remains confident that his days at the top are far from over.

"Mr. DeLay is very encouraged by the swift progress of the legal proceedings and looks forward to his eventual and absolute exoneration based on the facts and the law," DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said in an e-mail to reporters.

DeLay, indicted on conspiracy charges in September and money-laundering charges in October, had hoped that state District Judge Pat Priest would toss out both charges, allowing him to return to his leadership post. The judge dismissed only the conspiracy charges.

Trial date to come - - With no trial date set, no guarantee that a trial would be completed soon and the possibility that it would tarnish DeLay whatever the outcome, House Republicans now may be forced to reconsider the arrangement by which Blunt became the temporary House leader.

>>>Thomas Spencer, a prominent Miami lawyer with strong GOP ties, said he doubted DeLay could beat the money-laundering rap in a matter of weeks or even a couple months, noting that pretrial matters, including potential motions on prosecutorial misconduct and an effort to move the trial out of Austin, are still pending. "To proceed carefully could take six months," he said. "I'd want to cross all the T's and dot all the I's and play this out."<<<

Adding to DeLay's full plate is a 2006 re-election effort in the 22nd Congressional District, where his Democratic opponent likely will be former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson.

A CNN poll released Monday evening showed that 49 percent of registered voters in DeLay's district say they would not vote for him while 36 percent said they would. The poll also showed that 55 percent think DeLay probably broke the law in the Texas campaign financing case. DeLay still has strong support among many GOP lawmakers, including Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston. He predicted the Sugar Land lawmaker will return to his leadership post "because Republican House members understand that Tom DeLay is being targeted by Democrats and the media."

Fear of 'The Hammer' - - DeLay's legislative power and keen awareness of who is and is not supporting him means that Republicans may avoid voicing doubts about him in public, Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jilson said. "They don't want to move early, because if 'The Hammer' returns, it could come down on them," he said, using a DeLay nickname. "Tom DeLay is a character who inspires fear and admiration in Washington, but fear first."