Indictment of Republican Tom DeLay a serious blow for Bush agenda

BETH GORHAM

WASHINGTON (CP) - In a serious blow for President George W. Bush, powerful Republican Tom DeLay was forced to step down Wednesday as House majority leader to face a conspiracy charge in a Texas campaign finance scheme.

Bush, who relied on DeLay's tough style to push policy, is already having a tough time dealing with a party beleaguered by the weak response to hurricane Katrina and divided over how to pay for a massive rebuilding project.

Now DeLay's indictment after years of pushing ethical boundaries provides an opportunity for Democrats to pound Republicans on corruption issues in the run-up to next year's congressional elections.

DeLay, know as "the Hammer" on Capitol Hill, came out swinging and proclaimed his innocence after word broke that a Texas grand jury charged him and two associates with violating a law banning corporate contributions to state candidates.

The charge came after a long investigation by Democratic district attorney Ronald Earle that DeLay has always portrayed as a political witch hunt.

"I have done nothing wrong," said DeLay, calling Earle a "rogue prosecutor" and a "partisan fanatic."

"I am innocent," he said. "This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history. It's a sham."

Said Earle: "My job is to prosecute felonies. I'm doing my job."

Republicans expressed support for DeLay as they selected Roy Blunt from Missouri, the current party whip in the House, to fill in temporarily.

The White House also stuck by DeLay, calling him "a good ally, a leader who we have worked closely with to get things done for the American people."

"I think the president's view is that we need to let the legal process work," said press secretary Scott McClellan.

DeLay, who will keep his seat representing Houston suburbs, vowed he'll be back, saying Democrats won't be able to disrupt the party's agenda.

But some analysts don't see it that way, especially since Republicans have other high-profile ethical concerns.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is facing questions about the timing of a stock sale in a family-owned business.

Karl Rove, White House chief of staff, has been embroiled in controversy over the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

And a top federal procurement officer appointed by Bush was arrested this month on charges that he made false statements and obstructed a federal investigation into a golfing junket arranged by lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

DeLay, 58, has long been at the centre of controversy. He was admonished three times last year by the House ethics committee for his conduct on three separate issues.

Now a Senate panel is pursuing his ties to Abramoff and questions about who paid the bills for DeLay's expensive overseas travel.

"The Republicans can't focus right now," said Charles Cushman, a politics professor at George Washington University.

"You've got this swirling set of accusations about greed, corruption and graft. This is going to follow them right up to the 2008 election. It's going to hurt a lot."

Democrat Nancy Pelosi, House minority leader, was quick off the mark Wednesday.

"The criminal indictment . . . is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American people," she said in a statement.

The indictment accuses DeLay of accepting $155,000 US from companies and funnelling it through the Republican National Committee back to Texas state candidates, violating laws outlawing corporate donations.

It's a state felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

The charge came three weeks after a state political action committee DeLay created, Texans for a Republican Majority, was also indicted on accepting corporate contributions for use in 2002 state legislative races.

John Colyandro, former executive director of the Texas committee, and Jim Ellis, who heads DeLay's national political committee, were also charged.

After Republicans gained control of the Texas legislature, DeLay created a federal redistricting plan that resulted in an increase of the Republican majority in the U.S. Congress.

© The Canadian Press, 2005