The DoJ investigation into Tom DeLay lasted through two presidents and four attorneys general. DeLay 'knew this day would come'

After almost six years of investigation, the Justice Department has decided not to bring corruption charges against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay over his involvement with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other ethics issues, DeLay and his attorneys said Monday.

“I always knew this day would come. My only hope was that it would come much sooner than the six years we’ve been doing this,” DeLay said Monday during a conference call with reporters. “While I will never understand why it took so long for the Justice Department to conclude that I was innocent, I am nevertheless pleased that they have made their determination.”


The investigation lasted through two presidents and four attorneys general. Federal prosecutors’ decision not to pursue the Texas Republican in court provides a stark footnote to the lobbying scandals that helped Democrats in 2006 regain the House majority they lost in the “Republican revolution” of 1994. That GOP sweep, during former President Bill Clinton’s first term, eventually made the pugnacious DeLay — nicknamed “The Hammer” — one of Washington’s top power brokers.

DeLay vigorously defended his conduct and insisted that the flurry of inquiries that drove him from office were entirely the product of his political enemies.

“The new politics is, it’s no longer good enough to beat you on policy, they have to completely drown you and put you in prison and destroy your family and your reputation [and] your finances and, then, dance on your grave,” DeLay said. “I hope that people will look at my case and decide that the criminalization of politics and the politics of personal is not beneficial to the country and our system, and hopefully it will stop.”

DeLay said he cooperated fully with the Justice Department inquiry by providing more than 1,000 pages of documents and e-mails to investigators, but prosecutors never talked to him. “The case was so weak that I was never interviewed by the investigators, nor was I asked to appear before the grand jury,” DeLay said.

Abramoff pled guilty to at least five felony counts relating to fraud and corrupt dealings with public officials and was sentenced to more than five years in prison. In all, 20 people have pleaded guilty or have been convicted in connection with the Justice Department’s Abramoff probe, which began under the Bush administration.

Two of those convicted, Tony Rudy and Michael Scanlon, were once senior aides to DeLay. However, DeLay insisted Monday that all of his dealings with Abramoff were above board.

“Abramoff is a friend of mine just as other lobbyists are friends of mine. We worked together professionally,” the former majority leader said. “He never asked me to do anything untoward, nor did I do anything untoward or unethical.”

One prominent ethics watchdog group expressed disappointment at the Justice Department’s decision.

“It’s a sad day for America when one of the most corrupt members to ever walk the halls of Congress gets a free pass,” said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “The Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute Mr. DeLay for his actions sends exactly the wrong message to current and future members. The fact that Jack Abramoff and Bob Ney (R-Ohio) are the only two people who went to prison for one of the worst corruption scandals in congressional history is shocking. The Hammer belongs in the slammer.”

DeLay still faces criminal charges related to his political activity: In September 2005, a Texas grand jury indicted him on charges of violating campaign finance laws that ban corporate contributions to state political campaigns, as well as conspiracy. DeLay has maintained he is not guilty of those charges, which are still pending.

In Monday’s call with reporters, DeLay said he has recognized since the mid-1990s that his role in the conservative movement made him a target for liberal political operatives, so he had lawyers carefully vet all of his activities.

“The thing that bothers me the most, frankly, is not that people think I’m corrupt. It’s that they think I’m stupid,” DeLay said. “I wouldn’t even go to the restroom without a lawyer saying that I could. ... For 15 years, I have lived by lawyers.”

Indeed, first word that DeLay was cleared by prosecutors came early Monday from Richard Cullen, his lead attorney.

“The federal investigation of Tom DeLay is over, and there will be no charges,” Cullen said. “This was one of the longest and [most] expensive and thorough investigations in recent memory. DeLay took a tack right from the start that he had nothing to hide, and we have been in a routine and constant dialogue with [prosecutors].”

Cullen said he was pleased there were no leaks from the government as the investigation ground on. “They played fair,” he said.

The Justice Department would not comment publicly on the DeLay case Monday, which is its custom if an investigation does not yield charges. Cullen said a prosecutor from the department’s Public Integrity Section phoned him with the news last week and said he was free to make it public.

Cullen said investigators talked to witnesses and checked documents overseas and had an “extremely active grand jury” that heard testimony from former aides and others.

“Several members of Congress [accused in related cases] objected to producing official government records under Speech or Debate Clause concerns. DeLay took the opposite position, ordering all his staff to answer all questions. He turned over more than 1,000 documents, and several of his aides gave interviews and grand jury testimony,” Cullen said.

A state case continues in Texas, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 24. A trial is expected next spring and could last several weeks.

DeLay started a consulting firm, First Principles, when he left office. He now spends most of his time at his home in Sugar Land, Texas. He frequently travels to give speeches and works with foster children with his wife, Christine.