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DeLay Hammered by Campaign Finance Indictment, Steps Down
as House Majority Leader
SEC Opens Formal Investigation of Frist into Allegations
of Insider Trading
FBI Killing of Puerto Rican Independence Leader Filiberto
Ojeda Rios Sparks Outpouring of Anti-US Sentiment
DeLay Hammered by Campaign Finance Indictment, Steps
Down as House Majority Leader
A Texas grand jury on Wednesday indicted House Majority
leader Tom DeLay (R - Texas) and two political associates,
charging them with a conspiracy to violate Texas campaign
finance laws. House Republicans gathered within hours of the
indictment becoming public and chose Rep. Roy Blunt (R - MO)
to replace DeLay as majority leader who was forced to step
down because of House rules. We speak with the executive editor
of The Texas Observer and independent journalist Doug Ireland.
[includes rush
transcript]
A Texas grand jury on Wednesday indicted House Majority
leader Tom DeLay and two political associates on charges of
conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme. DeLay is temporarily
stepping down from his post as House majority leader - the
Number Two ranking Republican in the US House of Representatives.
GOP House rules require DeLay to give up his leadership position
because of the indictment, but he is allowed to retain his
Congressional seat.
Delay has denied the charges and accused the prosecutor who
lodged them - Ronnie Earle - of conducting a political witch-hunt
against him.
- Rep. Tom DeLay (R - Texas)
Longtime Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is
a Democrat with a long history of going after politicians
on both sides of the aisle. He defended the accusations of
partisanship made by DeLay and recounted his past record of
prosecutions.
- Ronnie Earle, Travis County District Attorney.
Tom DeLay could face up to two years in prison if convicted
on the charge handed up by the Travis County grand jury in
Austin. He is the first House leader to be indicted in office
in at least a century - this according to the Associated Press.
Republicans quickly rallied behind DeLay and announced their
support for his return as House majority leader. House Speaker
Dennis Hastert emerged from a meeting with House GOP leaders
late Wednesday afternoon and announced that Rep. Roy Blunt
of Missouri - the current majority whip - will temporarily
replace DeLay. Congressmembers David Dreier of California
- the chairman of the Rules Committee - and Eric Cantor of
Virginia - the deputy whip - will assist Blunt with some of
the majority leader duties.
- Rep. Dennis Hastert (R - Illinois), Speaker of the House
Republican Congressmember Roy Blunt of Missouri and House
Speaker Dennis Hastert at a news conference Wednesday.
Tom DeLay was indicted on a single conspiracy charge tied
to illegal fund-raising activities in Texas. The indictment
accuses DeLay and two alleged co-conspirators - John Colyandro
and Jim Ellis - of engaging in a scheme to launder $190,000
in corporate donations through the Republican National Committee
for distribution to Republican candidates for the Texas Legislature.
The money was funneled to the RNC from Texans for a Republican
Majority political action committee - or TRMPAC - which was
created by DeLay and associates for the 2002 state elections.
Texas law generally prohibits corporate money from being
used for campaign activities.
TRMPAC's money and expertise helped Republicans win control
of the Texas Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.
At DeLay's urging, the Legislature then conducted a controversial
remapping of congressional districts that resulted in more
Republicans from Texas being elected to the U.S. House.
TRMPAC itself was indicted on Sept. 8 for accepting illegal
corporate funds. Eight corporations and an industry lobbying
group have also been indicted during the 34-month probe.
At the White House, the president's chief spokesman, Scott
McClellan, expressed support for Delay.
- Scott McClellan, White House spokesperson.
DeLay is an 11-term congressman from the Houston area. He
was elected majority whip in 1994 and became House majority
leader in 2002. His reputation as a tough party enforcer have
earned him the nickname, "The Hammer."
With DeLay under fire for three admonishments by the House
ethics committee on separate issues, and amid concerns about
the grand jury investigation in Texas, House Republicans changed
a rule in November 2004 so that DeLay could keep his leadership
post in the event he were indicted. But they were forced to
reverse the move two months later following a public outcry.
- Doug Ireland, a longtime radical political journalist
and media critic. He has been a columnist for The Nation
magazine, Village Voice, the New York Observer and the Paris
daily Liberation. He is also a contributing editor of POZ,
the monthly for the HIV-positive community and writes a
blog, "Direland"
SEC Opens Formal Investigation of Frist into Allegations
of Insider Trading
The SEC has given subpoena power to investigators looking
into potential insider trading by Senate Majority leader Dr.
Bill Frist (R - TN) of shares of his family's corporation
- the Hospital Corporation of America. We speak with independent
journalist Doug Ireland. [includes rush
transcript]
DeLay's indictment is the latest in a recent spate if ethical
high-raking Republicans or Bush administration officials.
Last week, it was disclosed that Senate Majority leader, Dr.
Bill Frist, was under federal investigation for a stock sale.
The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission has given subpoena power to investigators
looking into potential insider trading by Frist of shares
of his family's corporation, HCA - the Hospital Corporation
of America. The SEC has officially changed the investigation's
status from informal to formal. The nonpartisan Foundation
for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights estimates that Frist made
between $2 million and $6 million by selling his HCA holdings
just before stock values plummeted in the face of a bad earnings
report.
- Doug Ireland, a longtime radical political journalist
and media critic. He has been a columnist for The Nation
magazine, Village Voice, the New York Observer and the Paris
daily Liberation. He is also a contributing editor of POZ,
the monthly for the HIV-positive community and writes a
blog, "Direland"
FBI Killing of Puerto Rican Independence Leader Filiberto
Ojeda Rios Sparks Outpouring of Anti-US Sentiment
We continue our look at the FBI killing of Puerto Rican
independence leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios. His killing has
sparked an outpouring of anti-U.S. sentiment in Puerto Rico
and fears that the Bush administration will launch a new crackdown
on the Puerto Rican independence movement. We go to Puerto
Rico to speak with a spokesperson for the Puerto Rican Socialist
Front and an independent political analyst. [includes rush
transcript]
We continue our look at the FBI killing of Puerto Rican independence
leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios. Nearly a week has passed since
FBI agents surrounded his house, resulting in a shootout that
left Ojeda Rios dead and an FBI agent wounded.
His killing has sparked an outpouring of anti-U.S. sentiment
in Puerto Rico and fears that the Bush administration will
launch a new crackdown on the Puerto Rican independence movement.
Earlier this week tens of thousands attended his funeral
making it one of the largest funerals in Puerto Rican history.
Puerto Ricans of all political stripes have questioned the
FBI's actions, especially because the shooting took place
on Sept. 23 - the anniversary of an 1868 uprising against
Spanish rule.
The FBI considered Ojeda Rios a fugitive from justice and
the head of a domestic terrorist group - the militant Puerto
Rican independence group Los Macheteros. But in Puerto Rico
he has long been viewed as a leader of the independence movement.
Now many see him as a martyr who was killed at the hands of
U.S. agents.
Puerto Rican officials and Amnesty International are calling
for an independent probe into his death. Amnesty said that
the killing should be considered an extra-judicial execution
if the FBI deliberately killed Ojeda Ríos or deliberately
left him to die, when they could have arrested him.
Although FBI agents shot him Friday afternoon at his home
they waited 20 hours before entering the house. Autopsy reports
show that he bled to death from a gunshot wound to his shoulder.
- Jorge Farinacci, spokesperson for the Puerto Rican Socialist
Front, and friend of Filiberto Ojeda.
- Juan-Manuel Garcia-Passalacqua, a Harvard-eductaed attorney
and independent political analyst in Puerto Rico. He hosts
one of the islands most popular radio programs on Noti Uno.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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