More Complaints Filed Against Congressman DeLay - April 5, 2004 Vol.5, No.7

April 5, 2004 Vol.5, No.7:

Published: 04/05/2004

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More Complaints Filed Against Congressman DeLay

Democracy 21 joins Common Cause and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy in their efforts to get House members to file a complaint to the ethics committee against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). Democracy 21, like the two organizations before it, wrote a letter to all House members asking for their help in getting the House ethics committee to investigate charges that DeLay’s charity Celebrations for Children Inc., was created as a “scheme…to misuse a tax-exempt charitable organization…for his own purposes and to finance his political operations at the Republican national convention this summer.”

House members might be reluctant to file a complaint to the ethics committee because there are 56 current members of Congress linked to 70 foundations similar to DeLay’s charity, explains Kent Cooper, operator of PoliticalMoneyLine.com, an online database that tracks the flow of money in campaigns. Democracy 21 and others complain that DeLay’s charity goes “far beyond reasonable bounds.” “The record in this case demonstrates that Celebrations for Children Inc. proposed activities will benefit interests…, namely the political interests of Rep. DeLay, his Republican House colleagues, and big donors,” said Fred Wertheimer president of political reform group Democracy 21 in his letter to House members.

All three groups have also filed complaints to the IRS stating that DeLay’s charity violated tax rules for 501(c)(3) organizations because it does not operate for a charitable “exempt purpose” and instead operates for the benefit of DeLay. IRS rules state that in order for organizations to be tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) of the tax code it must be organized and operated exclusively for one or more of the following exempt purposes: charitable, educational, religious, scientific, literary, fostering national or international sports competitions, preventing cruelty to children and animals, and testing for public safety.

Wertheimer also believes that DeLay is breaking House rules requiring members to conduct themselves “at all times in a manner which shall reflect creditably on the House of Representatives” because of his alleged tax law violations. Currently, there is no indication that any House member has filed a complaint against DeLay to the ethics committee or that the IRS is looking into the allegations made by the three organizations.

On the other hand, active pursuit to investigate DeLay is ongoing in Texas. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has been looking into whether DeLay has violated state campaign finance laws. The charge against DeLay and other state Republicans is for using a political action committee (PAC) for illegally raising corporate money for political campaigns. Earle contends that DeLay and fellow Republicans funneled illegal corporate donations through the Texans for a Republican Majority PAC to elect a bigger Republican majority in the Texas House.