Tom Delay Indicted
On Wednesday the 28th, Republican House Majority leader Tom DeLay was indicted for conspiracy involving money laundering and he stepped down. I can already hear the Republican apologist brigade warming up to declare this a partisan witch hunt. For the record, the prosecutor responsible for the DeLay indictment has prosecuted 11 Democratic and 4 Republican officials over the course of his career before DeLay. Prosecutor Ronnie Earle is and always has been a straight shooter, smoking out government corruption no mater where it hides.
More on the flip
Nor, is DeLay’s indictment likely to be the only one of a prominent Republican over the next few months. The Plame investigation over the outing of a CIA agent is ongoing with possible consequences for the President’s chief advisor, Karl Rove, the Vice President’s chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, and the never-confirmed US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton. Further investigations of Republican corruption in high places involve a number of elected and appointed officials involved in the ever-expanding series of prosecutions surrounding indicted Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. And as of this week, Republican Senatorial leader Bill Frist is under investigation for insider trading.
That’s starting to look an awful lot like a pattern.
