November 07, 2010

By Associated Press ,

http://topnews360.tmcnet.com/topics/associated-press/articles/2010/11/07/114861-ex-gop-official-money-swap-delay-case-common.htm

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A former Republican National Committee official told jurors Thursday in Tom DeLay's money laundering trial he doesn't believe anything illegal was done when the RNC exchanged $190,000 in corporate donations raised by the ex–House majority leader's political action committee, saying such money swaps were common.

But Terry Nelson, who had been the executive director of political operations for the Washington–based RNC, said that while he had done similar swaps with state parties, he had never done one with a PAC. He also said the transaction was unusual because the PAC had provided a list of seven candidates to whom it wanted the funds to go.

Under Texas law, corporate money cannot be directly used for political campaigns. DeLay is accused of using his PAC to illegally funnel corporate donations into Texas legislative races eight years ago. He is charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DeLay, who faces up to life in prison if convicted, has denied any wrongdoing.

Nelson testified that DeLay associate Jim Ellis in August or September of 2002 proposed an exchange in which DeLay's PAC would give the RNC $190,000 in corporate money it couldn't spend in Texas and in return the PAC would get an equal amount from the RNC that had been collected from individual donations.

Ellis "said Tom DeLay wanted us to do that," Nelson told jurors.

Prosecutors claim DeLay, Ellis and another DeLay associate, John Colyandro, hatched the alleged scheme to funnel the money, which they say helped Republicans take control of the Texas House in 2002. That majority allowed the GOP to push through a congressional redistricting plan engineered by DeLay that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004 and strengthened DeLay's political stature, prosecutors said.

Nelson said the swap was also unusual because Ellis proposed a dollar for dollar exchange rate. In such swaps, corporate dollars are usually worth less because of spending restrictions they have, he said.

After the transaction was approved, the RNC sent checks that totaled $190,000 to the seven Texas legislative candidates whose names were by Ellis, Nelson said.

When questioned by DeLay's lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, Nelson said such money swaps were commonly done by Democrats and Republicans and that the money given to the Texas candidates was not corporate money.

"It's not the same money is it?" DeGuerin asked Nelson.

"We can only contribute a certain kind of money in Texas," Nelson said.

Lead prosecutor Gary Cobb said the only purpose of the swap was to get the $190,000 "all nice and clean."

Earlier Thursday as they questioned Warren Robold, the PAC's fundraiser, prosecutors showed jurors a series of e–mails that indicated that in the weeks leading up to the 2002 elections in Texas, the political group was having great difficulty raising money from individual donors and that it turned its focus on getting more corporate donations.

Robold had been indicted on charges of accepting illegal corporate contributions as part of the alleged scheme.

Robold told jurors the charges were dismissed earlier this year and he did not testify as part of any agreement.

"I did nothing wrong," Robold told jurors.

None of the 12 witnesses who have testified for prosecutors have directly tied DeLay to the alleged scheme. DeGuerin has said DeLay had little involvement in running the PAC.

Prosecutors deny defense claims that the charges are politically motivated by former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat who brought the original case but has since retired.

DeLay's defense team also worried about the trial being held in Austin — the most Democratic city in one of the most Republican states. DeLay has been pressing for a trial since he was indicted five years ago, but the case was slowed by appeals of pretrial rulings.

The criminal charges in Texas, as well as a separate federal investigation of DeLay's ties to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, ended his 22–year political career representing suburban Houston. The Justice Department ended its federal investigation into DeLay's ties to Abramoff without filing any charges against DeLay.

Ellis and Colyandro, who face lesser charges, will be tried later.

DeLay, whose nickname was "the Hammer" for his heavy–handed style, has been mostly out of public view since resigning from Congress, except for an appearance on ABC's hit television show "Dancing With the Stars." He now runs a consulting firm based in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land.