Judge sentences Tom DeLay to 3 years in prison

[jefferson_dem]

Source: AP

By JUAN A. LOZANO
The Associated Press
Monday, January 10, 2011; 3:23 PM

AUSTIN, Texas -- A judge has ordered U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to serve three years in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally funnel corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.

The sentence comes after a jury in November convicted DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DeLay was once one of the most powerful men in U.S. politics, ascending to the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives.

The former Houston-area congressman had faced up to life in prison. His attorneys asked for probation.

Senior Judge Pat Priest issued his ruling after a brief sentencing hearing on Monday in which former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert testified on DeLay's behalf.

Priest declined to hear testimony from the state's only witness.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011000557.html?hpid=topnews

[JudyM]

1. Finally some justice. n/t

[William769]

2. Good place for him.

[YvonneCa]

3. Finally. This is good news. n/t

[LTR]

4. Which Club Fed will he be living at? (nt)

[Brother Buzz]

12. State crime - Texas prison.

[L. Coyote]

5. Will he become the janitor, like Governor Don Siegelman?

[freshwest]

85. The prison laundry needs his expertise.

Okay, someone had to say it.

:hide:

[DemoTex]

6. Delay's mugshot from October 2005. Who's smilin' now?

Then


At today's sentencing

"Senior Judge Pat Priest sentenced him to the three-year term on the conspiracy charge. He also sentenced him to five years in prison on the money laundering charge but allowed DeLay to accept 10 years of probation instead of more prison time."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011000557.html?hpid=topnews

[Jefferson23]

7. Ha ha, go dancing with the criminals now you freaking slime Delay.

[OKNancy]

K

[OKNancy]

8. K

[callous taoboy]

9. .

[MountainLaurel]

10. Excited

Just thinking about DeLay's perp walk.

[No Elephants]

88. Dancing With the Bars?

[williesgirl]

11. So when will this cretin actually go to prison?

[Lasher]

82. Maybe never

He remains free, pending appeal. It's been 8 years since his crimes were committed in 2002. He was indicted in 2005 and he's just now been sentenced.

He's already spent $10 million on his defense and said, "I've got some friends who help me pay bills." Who can say how much longer his appeals will drag on? Maybe he'll die before then. Maybe the next Republican president will pardon him. One thing for sure is, he's yet to serve a single day in jail.

[Thor_MN]

103. I figure he will lose his last appeal on Dec 21, 2012, thereby causing the Apocalypse

cause Rethugs don't do prison time....

[tclambert]

13. Is that real prison, or prison with tennis courts?

[nyc 4 Biden]

14. big ole k&r!

[reflection]

15. I'll say "good" in this thread

and not the one that celebrates prison rape.

Good! See you Tom.

[CLANG]

16. Tom Delay sentenced to 3 years in prison

Source: msnbc

Somebody beat me to it..... carry on.

No link yet.

---

And he's apparently quite happy about it:

[ellenfl]

17. woo hoo! eom

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[The Wielding Truth]

19. I can't get enough of this post.

[Vinca]

20. Seriously???? At long last justice????

[Sancho]

21. Wonderful!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[northoftheborder]

23. ditto 1,000,000

[Cheap_Trick]

22. His cellmate thinks he's sexy. nt

[lies and propaganda]

24. LOVE!

May you be one of many Bushfucks who sees the inside of a jail cell.

[forty6]

46. !

those two women in MISS were in prison for 14 or so years and were let out for "humanitarian" reasons, (organ transplant possible) annd they were convicted because they stole $200 !!!

[Solly Mack]

25. That's wonderful!

I didn't think it would ever happen.

[sledgehammer]

26. Republican Tom DeLay sentenced to three years in prison

Source: BBC News

Former US House Republican Leader Tom DeLay has been sent to prison for three years on conspiracy charges.

The Texas politician was convicted of conspiring to funnel corporate campaign contributions to legislative races in Texas, in violation of state law.

DeLay resigned as House Majority leader five years ago, after his indictment. A Texas jury found him guilty of money laundering and conspiracy in November.

DeLay has called the case a political vendetta.


Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12157749

[Ian David]

27. Tom DeLay Lay Lay is going to jail jail jail! n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

37. Does the next line end in tail, tail, tail? nt

[Ian David]

40. Tom DeLay Lay Lay had some power power power... n/t

[mwb970]

28. Yay!

[The Wielding Truth]

29. I love seeing this post.

[MelissaB]

34. Warms my heart especially because I'm a new Texan.

:kick:

[rfranklin]

30. La la Lay Hey hey Goodbye...

Adios amigo!

[AnneD]

31. Texas doesn't have very many campaign laws....

but damn if he didn't break both of them.

Kudos to Attorney Ronnie Earle. Folks tried to make him out to be partisan and have bad data, but the man put his retirement on hold to investigate this. He also brought down Wright, the Dem speaker. He goes after corruption, no matter what side of the aisle. The guy should have been a Texas Ranger. He was a true public servant.

[nyc 4 Biden]

32. w00t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eom

[Auggie]

33. Kind of a hollow victory... there are so many worthy others

[mahatmakanejeeves]

35. Can't ... resist.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay at the Travis Co. Courthouse in Austin, Texas on Monday.

From: Judge sentences DeLay to 3 years in prison

[dixiegrrrrl]

74. Shoulda got another year for that tie.

[Seedersandleechers]

36. Is it breaking news on Fox

and the other MSM channels?

[greiner3]

64. If it is;

Then they'll say he is/was a Democrat.

[StarburstClock]

38. Excellent news, this is what happens when any of the criminal repubs go before a judge

Their crimes are obvious and easily proven.

[Frisbee]

39. If Denny Hastert is the best...

...character reference you can come up with, you are in deep do-do.

[Hulk]

41. Justice is served....finally!!

Now...let's go after some criminals of substance.....cheney, bush-the-chimp, gonzalez, rove, rumsfeld, beck, and the rest of these war crimnals and seditious pieces of shit!

[alp227]

42. FRONTPAGE THIS RIGHT NOW! I was waiting for this day to come!

Now let's deal with the issue of corporate money spawned by that infamous case from nearly exactly 1 year ago: Citizens United v. FEC! It made me a bit disgusted when the judge DeLay the sentencing from the original date (5 days before Christmas) but wow, this IS a good punishment, and most here seem to agree on it. It was originally reported that DeLay would face 5 years to life. 3 behind bars + 10 probation fits the crime. This should be some real news besides the Arizona shooting this evening.

[teabaghater]

44. "Dancing with the Cons"

He's experienced!

[Plucketeer]

43. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...

Why the long face, Tom??? I'd bet they have some bug juice and a sprayer for you to play with! And you can entertain the other inmates with your tales of bribery and corruption. "Yeah, someone said get on this plane, Tom. So I did. How was I to know we were gonna end up on some golf course in Europe?" :dunce:


Hey kid! Here a reply requested piece
of mail from congressman Issa.

[ProSense]

45. Was hoping for at least 7 years. n/t

[Major Hogwash]

56. His career is over. His career of cronyism, bullying, threatening other people is over.

The way he threatened other Republicans in Congress was a disgrace.
I tuned in once to C-Span only to see a female Republican Congresswoman cringing behind the row of seats the Democrats were sitting in, trying to keep away from him.
That's just not sad, it's a disgrace he got away with doing that for so long to members of his own party.

[jmowreader]

81. Now, now, he'll have a new career

Look at Charles Colson for guidance. Colson was one of the few members of the Nixon White House to see the inside of a cell. Now he makes a lot of money as an evangelist.

[dgibby]

47. Wonder if Gov. "Goodhair" will commute his sentence or just

pardon him outright. I seriously doubt he'll spend even one day behind bars.

[IntravenousDemilo]

48. I hope he likes bread and water. n/m

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

49. Kick...

...eom

[workinclasszero]

50. All rethuglians belong in jail

Whats your views on waterboarding now Tom?

Maybe Tom can bunk with the killa from Wasilla, when she gets there!

[defendandprotect]

51. Good thing he wasn't caught smoking pot -- !!!

[NYC Liberal]

52. "Judge, I can't be remorseful for something I don't think I did"

Lock him up! What an arrogant fucker. At least there's still some justice around.

[Vidar]

53. Bush or Cheney would have been better, but I'll take whatever good news I can get.

[Dappleganger]

54. He probably won't actually go for another decade

while it's in appeal.

[lovuian]

55. He can dance with the felons now

just three years for money laundering!!!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

57. Back to the top.

[shanti]

58. perp walk time!

:thumbsup:

[MurrayDelph]

59. So now he can use that hammer

to make little rocks out of big ones.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

60. ...or kill cockroaches.

[hyphenate]

61. DeLay Sentenced to 3 Years in Money Laundering Case

Source: New Yoek Times

By JESSE McKINLEY
Published: January 10, 2011

AUSTIN, Texas —Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday after convictions for money laundering and conspiracy stemming from his role in a scheme to channel corporate contributions to Texas state races in 2002.

.Mr. DeLay, once one of the most powerful and polemical Republican congressmen in the state’s history, was ushered out of Travis County Court after the sentencing and was taken by sheriff’s deputies to the county jail, where he was expected to post a $10,000 bond and be released pending an appeal.

After listening to Mr. DeLay say he felt he had done nothing wrong, Judge Pat Priest sentenced him to three years in prison for the conspiracy count and 10 years’ probation for the money laundering count. The judge rejected arguments from Mr. DeLay that the trial had been a politically motivated vendetta mounted by an overzealous Democratic District Attorney.

“Before there were Republicans and Democrats, there was America, and what America is about is the rule of law,” the judge said just before pronouncing the sentence.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/us/politics/11delay.html

---

Good! The more we see convicted, the better off the country will be!

[Kingofalldems]

62. Uh oh ---somebody is not liking this one

K and R:-) :shrug:

[alp227]

63. The Guardian: DeLay "released on $10,000 bail pending appeal"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/10/tom-delay-jail-money-laundering

leading figure in George Bush's Republican party, Tom DeLay, was sentenced today to three years in prison on accusations that he by-passed political funding laws to forward his own electoral interests.

DeLay remains a free man, released on $10,000 bail pending appeal. But his sentence runs to five years in prison, reduced to three years with the addition of 10 years on probation.

---

So technically this sentence is meaningless until DeLay exhausts all appeals.

[freshwest]

84. Yup. And he could still get pardoned, right?

[goforit]

65. Hip Hip Hoorah!!!!

[Deep13]

66. * must *** not *** laugh *** derisively *

Dammit.

[underpants]

67. YES!!!

I love it

[Joey Liberal]

68. Made my day! nt

[Name removed]

69. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

70. at last!

that will wipe the smile off his face

[Crunchy Frog]

71. Some happy news finally!

Of course I would have like to have seen life, but I'll be happy seeing him do any serious time in the slammer at all.

I wonder if he'll come out a RW celebrity like G. Gordon Liddy. I think prison time gives a certain cachet to the really whacko ones.

[conspirator]

72. Good. Now can we get Cheney to spend a year in jail before he dies n/t

[kath]

73. But will he actually serve even a day??

Somehow I doubt it.

[Stuart G]

78. Maybe not...but they said the same thing about George Ryan,

former governor of Illinois...still serving in the pen.

[sofa king]

75. Three years is crap. I hope a Texas DUer is there with a phone cam when he violates his parole.

[MilesColtrane]

76. K & R

[lumberjack_jeff]

77. Seriously?

I can hardly believe it. I would have settled for one day wearing stripes and picking up trash along the highway.

[unkachuck]

79. "...DeLay to serve three years in prison..."

....bugman got three years, that's all?....bugmans' attitude alone deserves more than three years in prison....

[cui bono]

80. There was some funny business going on at the sentencing hearing.

I heard about it on the radio this morning. The judge stopped the prosecution's (character?) witness in the middle and wouldn't let them testify. Something about them not being credible. So the prosecution refused to continue or something. I'll have to look it up when I get home from work.

But I wonder if he would've gotten a longer sentence if the judge didn't seem to be working in his favor at the end.

EDIT TO ADD:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/01/10/general-us-delay-trial_8248161.html

Associated Press
Prosecution cut short at DeLay sentencing hearing
By JUAN A. LOZANO , 01.10.11, 11:03 AM EST

AUSTIN, Texas -- Prosecutors abruptly concluded presenting their case in the sentencing hearing of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, convicted last year on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The prosecution's presentation of evidence against DeLay was cut short on Monday by Senior Judge Pat Priest, who declined to hear the testimony of the state's only witness, a Southeast Texas businessman who claimed DeLay had urged him in 1996 to evade campaign finance laws in a separate case.
Article Controls

Priest, who is sentencing DeLay, said prosecutors couldn't prove the businessman's claims beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge delayed the hearing until later Monday morning so DeLay's attorneys can begin presenting their witnesses.

The former Houston-area congressman faces up to life in prison. His attorneys are asking for probation.

[lonestarnot]

86. We are lucky he got that wrist slap. I figured he'd get probation and a kiss.

[Imagevision]

83. Delay sentenced to 3 years on condition he start the sentence in his next life

[No Elephants]

87. Sentences for messing with our democracy should be much heavier.

Enjoy prison, you POS.

[pleah]

89. So, glad he got jail time, but doubt he will ever serve time. n/t

[Enthusiast]

90. If he was sentenced to three

he likely deserved ten.

[russspeakeasy]

91. Sentenced, yes...Going to jail, no.

[W T F]

92. Ahhh...the sound of him screaming from being sodomized by his cell mates is music to my ears

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Roundtree65]

102. Sick

[BigD_95]

93. Does seem like the MSM

talks about this that much

[indimuse]

94. KNR! n/t

[nalnn]

95. I hate to say it but...

He's not going to see the inside of a prison cell. Not for a long time. He is free pending appeal...... Look for at least 3 years until he is incarcerated. If he has a lawyer worth his vast fortune, he will never see prison and will die before his last appeal is completed.

[Harry Monroe]

96. Here's hoping the soap is dropped often for him!!

Karmic payback for all the times he's fucked everyone else.

[L0oniX]

97. 1 down ...50+ more to go.

[Swede Atlanta]

98. He won't serve a day..........

Governor "Secession" Perry will at a minimum commute his sentence so that he doesn't have to serve a day in prison or be on probation. More likely, however, is that he will give him a full pardon, a big party at the governor's mansion and first dibs on the 2012 Texas GOP coffers.

[bdamomma]

99. karma is a bitch isn't it?

but not long enough for him, and what about bushco? snakes all of them.

[DissedByBush]

100. Dancing in the streets -- for now

He is one of the ruling class, so I don't have much faith that he'll serve any time.

[LemmingWarrior]

101. Delay sounds as innocent as the new driven snow

.....why not shave his head and ship him off to the monastery.

[TK421]

104. A start, but not enough....slap on the wrist

[PruneJuiceMedia]

105. DeLay should have received more time

I covered this story today with a post on my sarcastic politics blog, Prune Juice Media.

Check out the post here: http://www.prunejuicemedia.com/2011/tom-delay-imprisoned/

DeLay got off quite lightly in this situation. It's only underscores that power in politics plays a crucial role in the judicial outcomes of offenders. The part that gets me is how DeLay STILL feels he did nothing wrong. How is that even possible? He, at one time, made the laws but he's clueless about how they work? Umm yeah .. ok Tommy!

[Psephos]

106. Bwahahahahahhhhaaaaaaaaa n/t