JohnnyBz00LS
Dedicated LVC Member
Posted on Tue, Apr. 19, 2005
DeLay statement denies all allegations
By Mike Allen
Washington Post
WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, in his first detailed written response after weeks of questions about his dealings with lobbyists and handling of ethics matters, issued a broad denial that he violated any law or House rule in accepting trips abroad, and he implored supporters back home to accept his version of what he called “the real story.”
DeLay’s overseas travel, his ties to Washington lobbyists and his hard-edged political style that prompted three admonitions from the House ethics committee last year have received intense media scrutiny. One question raised has been whether DeLay’s travel was paid for by non-profit groups or by lobbyists and private interests working through those groups.
In a message e-mailed to supporters in his suburban Houston district that was provided to the Washington Post on Monday, DeLay blamed the reports on Democrats, liberal groups and the “legion of Democrat-friendly press” who were trying to undermine Republican control of Congress. “It is abundantly clear that their fundamental strategy revolves around attacking me and working to tear down Republican leadership,” he said.
DeLay said in the message, titled “What the Press Isn’t Telling You” and covering about six single-spaced pages, that his overseas trips were “proper” and “properly vetted and undertaken” and that if there were any question about the source of funding for that travel, no member of Congress “should be responsible for deceptive behavior by outside organizations.”
He stressed that he has never been found in violation of any law, and that the three admonitions from the ethics committee did not constitute a “sanction.”
“It would be quite easy to write an entire book about how Democrats, and many in the press, have chosen to selectively report and strategically ignore many FACTS about me and my work as Congressman for the 22nd District,” DeLay wrote.
While DeLay did not offer any new details about the ethics controversies, the e-mail wraps together many of the individual arguments DeLay and his aides have used to try to deflect or respond to the criticism.
Funny, his statement, "It would be quite easy to write an entire book about how Democrats, and many in the press, have chosen to selectively report and strategically ignore many FACTS about.........." seems so hypocritical following his and his party's exploitation of the Schaivo case and the "bait-n-switch" tactic used on the American public that lead us into war in Iraq.
DeLay statement denies all allegations
By Mike Allen
Washington Post
WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, in his first detailed written response after weeks of questions about his dealings with lobbyists and handling of ethics matters, issued a broad denial that he violated any law or House rule in accepting trips abroad, and he implored supporters back home to accept his version of what he called “the real story.”
DeLay’s overseas travel, his ties to Washington lobbyists and his hard-edged political style that prompted three admonitions from the House ethics committee last year have received intense media scrutiny. One question raised has been whether DeLay’s travel was paid for by non-profit groups or by lobbyists and private interests working through those groups.
In a message e-mailed to supporters in his suburban Houston district that was provided to the Washington Post on Monday, DeLay blamed the reports on Democrats, liberal groups and the “legion of Democrat-friendly press” who were trying to undermine Republican control of Congress. “It is abundantly clear that their fundamental strategy revolves around attacking me and working to tear down Republican leadership,” he said.
DeLay said in the message, titled “What the Press Isn’t Telling You” and covering about six single-spaced pages, that his overseas trips were “proper” and “properly vetted and undertaken” and that if there were any question about the source of funding for that travel, no member of Congress “should be responsible for deceptive behavior by outside organizations.”
He stressed that he has never been found in violation of any law, and that the three admonitions from the ethics committee did not constitute a “sanction.”
“It would be quite easy to write an entire book about how Democrats, and many in the press, have chosen to selectively report and strategically ignore many FACTS about me and my work as Congressman for the 22nd District,” DeLay wrote.
While DeLay did not offer any new details about the ethics controversies, the e-mail wraps together many of the individual arguments DeLay and his aides have used to try to deflect or respond to the criticism.
Funny, his statement, "It would be quite easy to write an entire book about how Democrats, and many in the press, have chosen to selectively report and strategically ignore many FACTS about.........." seems so hypocritical following his and his party's exploitation of the Schaivo case and the "bait-n-switch" tactic used on the American public that lead us into war in Iraq.
