Reply #65: Probe into corruption reaches DeLay's inner circle, sources say [View All]

[UpInArms]

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/politics/14250359.htm

WASHINGTON - The latest plea deal in the GOP lobbying corruption scandal has moved the investigation to Rep. Tom DeLay's inner circle, congressional insiders said.

DeLay's former deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, 39, did not implicate him in any wrongdoing when he pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy in the case involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

But Rudy did finger his ex-boss - DeLay's former chief of staff Ed Buckham - as playing a role in the congressional bribery scandal.

"They were Batman and Robin. Tony didn't do anything without Buckham's say-so. ... Buckham was Batman," said a knowledgeable source.

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"This is a line of falling dominoes, and it's getting closer to DeLay - the investigation is within his inner circle now," said Naomi Seligman, deputy director of the liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

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