Below the radar but not forgotten

The investigations into corruption among Tom DeLay's associates has been going on for a while, but pretty much nobody thought that DeLay himself would actually be indicted, given the walls of protection around him, the willingness of his colleagues in the House to change the rules to protect him, and some stupid legal technicalities as well. Well, he was indicted and has resigned as House Majority Leader. Wow!

For those needing a refresher, the case concerns questionable use of funds by an organization under DeLay's control:

State law bans corporate money being spent in connection with political campaigns and Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat, has spent almost three years investigating whether Republican groups and their business allies violated that ban. The groups helped elect a Republican majority to the state Legislature which, in turn, drew new Congressional districts that benefited Republican candidates.

(See previous rantage here, here, and here.) He's being included in the mess now under a conspiracy charge, rather than a direct election violation charge. Expect to hear more about this in the next few days than you ever wanted to know . . .

(via kos)

Update: looks like there's reason to believe that DeLay was charged as part of a plea bargaining deal, and may go for "nolo contendere" when the time comes...