Washington – Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has notified House officials that he failed to disclose all contributions to his legal defense fund as required by congressional rules.
The fund is paying DeLay’s legal bills in a campaign-finance investigation in Texas, where DeLay has been indicted, and in a federal investigation of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The lobbyist arranged foreign travel for DeLay and had his clients pay some of the cost.
DeLay has denied wrongdoing in both cases.
He wrote House officials that he started an audit and it found that $20,850 contributed in 2000 and 2001 to the defense fund was not reported anywhere.
An additional $17,300 was included in the defense fund’s quarterly report but not in DeLay’s 2000 annual financial-disclosure report – a separate requirement.
Other donations were understated as totaling $2,800 when the figure should have been $4,450.
House rules require quarterly reports of donations and expenditures by a lawmaker’s legal defense fund.
Donations exceeding $250 also must be disclosed on annual financial-disclosure reports.
Delay, who has stepped down as majority leader because of felony indictments in the Texas probe, disclosed and corrected the past reporting mistakes.
In past years, the fund has paid legal bills in several ethics investigations of DeLay and in a racketeering suit filed by a House Democratic campaign organization. DeLay was admonished by the ethics panel on three occasions last year and the racketeering suit was closed in 2001.
DeLay is charged in Texas with money laundering and conspiracy to violate Texas election laws.
He will return to court there Tuesday for a hearing on whether the judge assigned to handle his trial should be removed.
DeLay and two associates are accused of funneling corporate money to Texas legislative campaigns in violation of state law prohibiting use of these donations for electing or defeating state candidates.
DeLay made his first court appearance Friday, but the hearing lasted only a few minutes after his attorney requested that the presiding judge, Bob Perkins, recuse himself from the case.
DeLay’s legal team said Perkins has made 34 political contributions to Democrats and their allies. Those contributions include some to MoveOn.org, a liberal group that has waged a campaign against DeLay.
Perkins asked another judge to decide whether he should be removed from the case. A retired senior judge, C.W. “Bud” Duncan, was assigned to hear the issue.
Cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom next week. A television camera and one newspaper photographer were allowed in DeLay’s first hearing.
House votes are scheduled for Tuesday evening and DeLay is expected to be back in Washington in time for those.
