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{{congresspedia}}{{Show badges|AEX}}[[Image:tomdelay.jpg|thumb|Tom DeLay represented the 22nd Congressional district of Texas from 1984 1985 to 2006]][[Image:Delay-mugshot.jpg|right|frame|DeLay's mug shot after his arrest on charges of felony money laundering. (He was later convicted and sentenced to prison.)]]

 '''Thomas Dale DeLay''' is , the former [[Republican Party U.S.A.|Republican]] member of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] who represented Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 1985 to 2006, co-founded [[Coalition for a Conservative Majority]] (CCM) with former Ohio Secretary of State [[J. He Kenneth Blackwell]] in November 2007 as a "new grass-roots organization that he says will help [[conservative]]s better convey their message to voters and take back control of [[Congress]]."<ref>Eric Pfeiffer, [http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/NATION/111160093/1002 "DeLay founds coalition to polish GOP message,"] ''Washington Times'', November 16, 2007.</ref> DeLay is the former [[House Majority Leader]], serving from 2002 until his resignation from the leadership in 2005 following his indictment on conspiracy charges. On April 5, 2006, he announced that he would be stepping down from his seat in Congress on June 9, 2006. He is the founder of the [[DeLay Foundation for Kids]].

DeLay became a [[w:born-again Christian|born-again Christian]] in 1985, After his wife Christine DeLay began volunteering as a court-appointed special advocate for children in foster care, the DeLays also became foster parents. DeLay has declined to comment on reports in ''The New Yorker'' that he is estranged from much of his family, including his mother and one of his brothers.<ref>Melinda Henneberger. [http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/062199delay-profile.html "Tom DeLay Holds No Gavel, But a Firm Grip on the Reins,"] ''New York Times.'' June 21, 1999.</ref> According to ''The [[The Washington Post]]'', DeLay has not spoken to his younger brother, Randy, a Houston lobbyist, since 1996, when a complaint to the [[U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct|House Ethics Committee]] prompted Tom DeLay to cut his brother off in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.<ref>Peter Perl. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A6825-2001May9&no "'Absolute Truth',"] ''Washington Post.'' May 13, 2001.</ref>

DeLay has been a strong supporter of the State of [[Israel]], saying, "The Republican leadership, especially that leadership in the House, has made pro-Israel policy a fundamental component of our [[w:foreign relations of the United States|foreign policy]] agenda and it drives the Democrat [sic] leadership crazy &mdash; because they just can't figure out why we do it!"<ref>Tom Curry. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5822374/ "DeLay makes intense appeal for Jewish voters,"] ''MSNBC.'' September 1, 2004.</ref>

DeLay has long been a strong critic of Cuban leader [[Fidel Castro]], and a supporter of the trade embargo against [[Cuba]]. In April 2005, [[w:Time Magazine|Time Magazine]] published a photo from a July 2003 trip to Israel. In the photo, DeLay is seen smoking a Cuban cigar.<ref>Karen Tumulty. [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1054968,00.html "But Did He Inhale?"] ''Time.'' April 27, 2005</ref> The consumption or purchase of Cuban cigars is illegal in the United States, but legal in Israel. At the time, smoking a Cuban cigar abroad was legal for U.S. citizens. Since September 2004, the [[Department of the Treasury]]'s enforcement of the law has been toughened to forbid consumption or purchase of Cuban cigars by U.S. citizens anywhere in the world.<ref>[http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/205641.html] ''Editorial: Cigar aficionado.'' June 5, 2007.</ref>

* See the main Congresspedia article on the '''[[{{Main|DeLay rule change]]'''.}}

<blockquote>The subpoena seeks information about ties between Abramoff-related groups and a Moscow energy giant that is called [[Naftasib]], a major supplier to the Russian [[Russia]]n military.

DeLay had reported that the Russia trip was paid for by a nonprofit, the [[National Center for Public Policy Research]], which has since been revealed to have been used by Abramoff to mask his use of client money to provide overseas trips to members of Congress.[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28319-2005Apr5.html] The trip occured occurred at the same time that the Russian government was lobbying Washington to continue to fund international lending organizations like the [[IMF]], which the government heavily relied upon. House and Senate Republicans were getting fed up with funding the IMF and the [[Overseas Private Investment Corporation]] and were trying to vote to cut the funding. DeLay wound up voting to continue to fund the international institutions. Naftasib was deeply tied to the Russian government counting as two of its primary clients the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. Naftasib used two front companies, Chelsea, located in both the Bahamas and the British Island of Jersey[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28319-2005Apr5.html], and [[Voor Huisen]], located in Holland[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/02/23/abramoff_ties_to_russians_probed/?page=full], to lobby and spend money in the United States.

The ''Houston Chronicle'' reported on April 18, 2006 that DeLay's political action committee [[ARMPAC ]] donated $5,000 to the New Hampshire Republican State Committee as other Republican operatives were putting money into the state party for a phone jamming scheme:

On September 28, 2005, DeLay was indicted in Austin, Texas on criminal charges of conspiracy to violate election laws in 2002 by a Travis County, Texas grand jury. The following week, on October 3, he was indicted yet again on a [[money laundering ]] charge. The allegations stemmed from the involvement of DeLay's PAC, [[TRMPAC]], in funneling corporate contributions to state campaigns during the 2002 election cycle. The Republican victories that year in the [[Texas Legislature]] led to the controversial [[2003 Texas congressional redistricting]].

These appeals were heard on July 31 by the Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals of New Orleans. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20060729/pl_cq_politics/tx22delayballotissueheadsintoappealscourt] On August 3, the court upheld the decision by the lower court to force DeLay to remain on the ballot. Following the ruling, the Texas GOP filed an application with U.S. Supreme Court Justice [[Antonin Scalia]] to block the appealate appellate court's ruling. On August 7, 2006, Scalia denied the request. [http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001289.php] Later that week, DeLay publicly called Scalia's decision, "Not only stupid, but dangerous." He was particularly bothered by the fact that the request was denied within several hours, indicating to DeLay that Scalia had not adequately considered it. [http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001312.php]

In the week that followed Scalia's decision, two potential write-in candidates emerged. First, Sugar Land mayor David G. Wallace announced his interest, followed by Houston City Council member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. [http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=4451171] On August 17, Texas Republicans met to choose a candidate whom the party could universally endorse. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/16/washington/16delay.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=login] On that night, local Republican Party precinct chairs endorsed Sekula-Gibbs. Following his loss, Wallace initally initially announced that he planned to run for the seat regardless. On August 21, however, he officially dropped out of the race. [http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001371.php] [http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001388.php]

As of the July 15, 2006 filing deadline, DeLay reported spending $485,275 in legal fees to six separate firms during the previous filing period, according to Political MoneyLine. He paid $265,000 to the Washington office of McDermott, Will & Emery; $75,000 to the Richmond, Va., office of McGuire Woods LLP; $69,410 to [[Blank Rome LLP|Blank Rome]] in Washington; $40,000 to McGahn & Associates PLC of Washington; $25,000 to the Houston office of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP; and $10,865 to Andy Taylor & Associates PC, also of Houston.

Delay sharply criticized the FBI investigation saying that "they’re going after other people and they’re questioning the other people about whether they know anything I may have done. And we’ve given them all the records and that’s the problem they’re having...It’s a Justice Department that is running amok. Fish or cut bait. Do something." Delay said that he believed the FBI knew, according to documents, of his wife's innocence and suggested that the continuing investigation was unecessaryunnecessary. <ref>Alexander Bolton, [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/delay-fbi-running-amok-2007-05-08.html "DeLay: FBI ‘running amok’,] ''The Hill'', May 9, 2007.</ref>

*[http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=61051 Segment on Tom DeLay], ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.'' ([[Daily Show|Other ''Daily Show'' segments on members of Congress.]]) </div>

===[[Thomas D. DeLay: Related SourceWatch Resources|SourceWatch Resources]]===

===Articles[[Thomas D. DeLay: Related SourceWatch Resources|Related SourceWatch articles]]=== ===References===<references/> ===External articles===

  [[Category:Congresspedia|DeLay, Tom|ALEC Exposed]]