Exposing the Abramoff-DeLay Connection

January 2006

Just after special-interest lobbyist Jack Abramoff plead guilty to federal charges including conspiracy and fraud, we created a powerful TV ad that exposed the connections between Abramoff and Tom DeLay. Shaken by the ad, DeLay resorted to bullying TV stations who planned to air the spot -- threatening to sue any station that aired it on the grounds that it cast him in a "false light."

We followed with a letter-writing campaign to the stations urging them not to cave to DeLay's bullying, and sharing the facts that showed the ad was accurate. Our case was bolstered when Factcheck.org -- a nonpartisan website affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania -- confirmed that the ad "contains nothing that is strictly false," and pointed out that DeLay's lawyer "mischaracterized" what the ad said.

Within days, we produced a new spot that challenged DeLay’s false claim that our original ad was inaccurate and highlighted the same facts as the original. It was introduced as "the ad Tom DeLay doesn't want you to see."

The ads were played on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews and Countdown with Keith Olbermann, mentioned in scores of newspapers across America, from the New York Times to the Houston Chronicle to the Los Angeles Times and received coverage by the biggest blogs in the business including Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo.

Tom DeLay TV Ads

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(Too Hot for TV)

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New DeLay TV Ad Script With Documentation

TV AD SCRIPT & SOURCES
(ad script in bold)

Here’s the ad Tom DeLay does not want you to see.

Letter sent to Houston area television stations by McGahn & Associates, on behalf of Tom DeLay, on January 10, 2006 -- a day before the original media buy was scheduled to begin. In the letter, Donald McGahn, Tom DeLay’s attorney, demands “that you [the television station] refuse or otherwise cease airing the advertisement”.

And what does Tom DeLay not want you to know?

That he received tens of thousands in campaign contributions from indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates.

As an individual, Jack Abramoff contributed $26,000 between 2000 and 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

In addition, the Associated Press documented that between Jack Abramoff, his lobbying associates and his tribal clients, Abramoff steered at least $57,000 in political contributions to DeLay.

“Abramoff’s travels with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay are already under criminal investigation. The lobbyist’s interactions with the Texas Republican’s congressional office frequently came around the time of campaign donations, golf outings or other trips provided or arranged by Abramoff for DeLay and other lawmakers. In all, DeLay received at least $57,000 in political contributions from Abramoff, his lobbying associates or his tribal clients between 2001 and 2004.”

Source: Associated Press, 01/03/06

That he took trips all over the world at his donors’ expense.

According to the Associated Press from January 1, 2006, Tom DeLay traveled extensively at the expense of his political contributors (See: Appendix C, p. 7-10).

“He visited cliff-top Caribbean resorts, golf courses designed by PGA champions and four-star restaurants—all courtesy of donors who bankrolled his political money empire.”

Source: Associated Press, 12/20/05.

The article lays out the extent of his travels:

“Public documents reviewed by The Associated Press tell the story: at least 48 visits to golf clubs and resorts with lush fairways; 100 flights aboard company planes; 200 stays at hotels, many world-class; and 500 meals at restaurants, some averaging nearly $200 for a dinner for two.”

Source: Associated Press, 12/20/05.

One such trip the article details is an excursion to Puerto Rico:

“A life to enjoy. The excuse to escape," Palmas del Mar, an oceanside Puerto Rican resort visited by DeLay, promised in a summer ad on its Web site as a golf ball bounced into a hole and an image of a sunset appeared. The Caribbean vacation spot has casino gambling, horseback riding, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing and private beaches.”
Source: Associated Press, 12/20/05.

That a group related to DeLay…

A Washington Post article, “The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail”, from December lays out in detail the relationship between DeLay, an organization related to DeLay, the U.S. Family Network, Abramoff, and Russian executives who worked with DeLay. (See: Appendix D, p. 11-17).

“ The U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group.”
Source: Washington Post, December 31, 2005.

...received $1 million dollars from Russian tycoons to allegedly influence his vote.

The same article goes on to describe the $1 million dollar contribution:

“ The former president of the U.S. Family Network said Buckham told him that Russians contributed $1 million to the group in 1998 specifically to influence DeLay's vote on legislation the International Monetary Fund needed to finance a bailout of the collapsing Russian economy.”

Source: Washington Post, December 31, 2005
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That’s what Tom DeLay doesn't want you to know. Is there more?

It’s time for DeLay to resign.