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More Judge Refuses to Drop Case Against DeLay Ally By R Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, July 13, 2005; The ruling was the latest of several in Texas courts to run against forme r officials of Texans for a Republican Majority, which was created by De Lay and his political aides to orchestrate a 2002 takeover of the Texas House. That victory in turn led to a redistricting of Texas congressiona l seats and helped cement GOP control of the US House of Representativ es. Politics Trivia The mother of White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan is running for office.
Sign Up Now The legal dispute has its roots in Texas's long-standing prohibition on t he use of corporate money in state elections and the group's collection of more than a half million dollars of such funds, which it poured into the races of 17 Republicans elected to the state House. In September 2004, a grand jury indicted John Colyandro, who directed the Texas group, on charges of illegally collecting the money. Colyandro, a veteran of White House political adviser Karl Rove's direct-mail firm, had sought to have the indictment dismissed on grounds that the law was poorly drafted and infringed on protected rights. District Judge Robert Perkins, ruling in Austin, denied the motion, clear ing an obstacle to Colyandro's eventual trial after appeals are heard. I n remarks from the bench, he indicated he plans to dismiss next month a similar motion by Jim Ellis, the Texas group's chief fundraiser, who was indicted for money-laundering in the case. In May, another state judge, ruling in a civil case, similarly upheld the election law's constitutionality. That judge found the group's treasure r, Bill Ceverha, had illegally failed to report the contributions and or dered him to pay $196,660 in damages to five of the defeated Democratic candidates. DeLay, who has not been charged with wrongdoing in the case, served on th e board of the Texas group, and called or met with some of its corporate donors. He also wrote a cover letter for its fundraising brochure. Elli s still runs DeLay's federal political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, which served as a model for the Texas group. Staff writer Caroline Keating contributed to this report from Austin.
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