Free Republic

The Justice Department has informed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) that the government has ended a six-year investigation of his ties to the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to DeLay's lead counsel in the matter, Richard Cullen, chairman of McGuireWoods. The investigation lasted through two presidents and four attorneys general. Its demise provides a stark footnote to the lobbying scandals that helped Democrats regain the House majority they held for 40 years and lost in the Republican revolution of 1994, which eventually made the pugnacious DeLay one of Washington’s top power brokers.

WASHINGTON—A lawyer for Tom DeLay said Monday that the Justice Department has ended an investigation of the former congressman and won't file criminal charges. One of Mr. DeLay's lawyers, Richard Cullen, said the Justice Department's Office of Public Integrity informed Mr. DeLay's legal team early last week that it was ending the investigation. Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney declined to comment, which is normally the case when the department ends a criminal probe without filing charges.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has ended its six-year criminal probe of the ties between former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff without filing any criminal charges against the former congressman. One of DeLay's lawyers, Richard Cullen, said Monday the Justice Department's Office of Public Integrity informed DeLay's legal team early last week that it was ending the investigation. "Six years is a long time and I'm sure he wishes it had happened years ago," Cullen said of the conclusion of the investigation. Cullen added that "for me, the result trumps the timing." Justice Department spokeswoman...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 03/03/2010 Pelosi Statement on Chairman Charles Rangel Washington, D.C - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this morning on Chairman Charles B. Rangel: "Chairman Charlie Rangel has informed me of his request for a leave of absence from his duties and responsibilities as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. I will honor his request. "I commend Chairman Rangel for his decades of leadership on jobs, health care, and the most significant economic issues of the day."

Labor leader Linda Chavez-Thompson won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor on Tuesday, capturing 53 percent of the primary vote against two opponents. She now faces incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the fall in a race that will be an uphill battle for the Democrat. Chavez-Thompson used her support from labor and Hispanic groups to establish a strong position in the race and also outspent her opponents - including former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle - by a substantial margin. Chavez-Thompson, 65, of San Antonio, is a former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO and a vice...

Much that is wrong with Congress was well illustrated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's inability to answer a straightforward question about the ethical lapses of one of her most powerful members. Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News asked Pelosi on Sunday whether House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel should have known it was a violation of ethics rules to accept Caribbean trips paid for by special interests.Here's the exchange:

By now, millions of Americans are familiar with Anita Dunn, who recently resigned her post as Barack Obama’s White House Communications Director after it was learned that she had previously cited Mao Zedong, the late Communist dictator and mass murderer, as one of her “favorite political philosophers.” By contrast, few people know anything substantive about Dunn’s husband, Robert Bauer, who has replaced Gregory Craig as President Obama’s White House Counsel. Craig resigned abruptly on November 13, after having repeatedly denied, for weeks, that he had any plans of stepping down. A 1976 graduate of the University of Virginia School of...

Former House majority leader Tom Delay, who last night dropped out of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars," has once again expressed skepticism that President Obama is a citizen of the United States. That aligns DeLay, a Republican once known as "The Hammer," with the so-called "birther" movement. The birthers' claims have repeatedly been shown to be illegitimate. Newsweek noted in an interview with DeLay that he "got into some trouble for saying on TV that you weren't sure President Obama was born in the United States." "What I said was, to answer a question from Chris Matthews, I said:...

WASHINGTON – Former Republican House majority leader Tom DeLay says he has "no idea" whether Barack Obama is constitutionally eligible to serve as president because he refuses to show his birth certificate to the American people. In answer to a question from Newsweek about statements he previously made with regard to Obama's eligibility, he stated: "What I said was, to answer a question from Chris Matthews, I said: 'Why wouldn't the president of the United States show the American people his birth certificate?' You have to show a birth certificate to play little league baseball. It's a question that should...

Gasp -- another double elimination! This was the second time that Season 9 ended with not one, but two couples who had their run for the coveted Mirrorball trophy cut short. Maybe it was because she never made all her steps ignite, or maybe it was because the two different pronunciations of her name confused viewers and split her votes, but actress Debi Mazar just couldn’t muster up enough fan support to make it past the third week. And after several news reports that he was dropping out, Tom DeLay, who performed his samba with stress fractures, announced that he...

Tom DeLay is gearing up to quit ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” as a result of stress fractures in both of his feet, according to a report from People magazine. The former Republican House Majority Leader will withdraw on tonight’s live results show, according to People. He was advised by his doctors not to perform with partner Cheryl Burke on Monday’s show, but did so anyway. During the broadcast, he told fans and judges, “What’s a little pain when we can party.” While the judges praised him for his effort, he did not score well and finished second to last....

The Hammer on Dancing with the Stars went against the advise of the show Producer and wore a red outfit with the GOP elephant on the back...(Link to the video added)

From Cloris Leachman to Evander Holyfield, Tatum O’Neal to Jerry Springer , Priscilla Presley to Steve-O. You’d think we’d seen it all on ABC TV’s “Dancing With The Stars.” But those crafty “Dancing With The Stars” producers just keep surprising us with something unusual each season. The contestant choices are designed to keep us on our toes, but more often I think they just keep our fingers on the remote. In the interest of better judgment, here are ten celebrities I hope we never, ever have to see as “Dancing With The Stars” contestants! Britney Spears: Haven’t we had just...

Long before he danced with the stars, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay two-stepped all over fellow Texas Rep. Ron Paul's hopes of overseeing the Federal Reserve, according to an account provided by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank. In a broader interview with my colleagues Phil Mattingly and Benton Ives, Frank offered this assessment of how DeLay and other GOP leaders tiptoed around giving Paul -- who wants to abolish the Fed -- the gavel of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over it: "In 2003, Ron Paul was in line to be chairman of the Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee of...

Tom DeLay is Cha-Cha-ing back into the GOP fray, telling PoliticsDaily.com that he thinks the Republican Party is leaderless - and doesn't have the organizational capacity to take back the Hill anytime soon. The former majority leader, taking a break from "Dancing with the Stars," blasts the Dem's health care reform plans but says his old allies are virtually helpless to stop it. The Hammer: "Republicans will pick up some seats in the House, maybe 20, but not enough to take back control." Shaking his head with frustration, he added, "The Republican Party doesn't have the organization or leadership to...

Ok, he's on Dancing with the Stars...is this an attempt to show his softer side to appeal to more?

The cha-cha-cha is just three small steps in a Latin dance but last night it was one giant step for Tom DeLay. The former House Majority Leader stole the show on “Dancing With the Stars,” the popular cringe-fest D-list celebrity reclamation project on ABC. Touted as the program’s “highest-ranking star,” DeLay partnered with ballroom pro (and two-time winner) Cheryl Burke for a booty-shaking, lip-syncing, winking number set to the tune of “Wild Thing.” And if you wanna know for sure: The whitest man in America can dance. In a mud-brown vest trimmed with sequins and matching sansabelt trousers straight out...

I turn on Dancing with the Stars, and who do I see? Tom Delay! There is also Mark Dacascos the Chairman of Iron Chef America of whom I’m a big fan, so it’s going to be tough “taking sides”. What a surprise! Now let’s see Tom Delay dance! My daughter is in martial arts, so I’m sort wanna’ go with Dacascos, and the added factor that I love Iron Chef America and I love Japanese culture (of course I don’t think Mark is Japanese? Not sure) … You know, I got to give it to Tom DeLay. Gosh, he must...

Wow... He's dancing with Cheryl... She's my favorite! Lucky stiff.

Good God, now I've seen everything. The "Hammer", Tom Delay is a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars"....