AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — One of religious conservatives' strongest advocates on Capitol Hill has stepped down from his leadership post after being indicted in a campaign-finance scandal.
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) resigned from his post as House Majority Leader Sept. 28, after receiving word that a grand jury in Austin had indicted him for criminal conspiracy. The charge was tied to a probe into alleged violations of Texas campaign-finance laws by DeLay and several of his political associates.
DeLay, a Baptist, immediately challenged the charges, which he said came at the hands of a vast Democratic conspiracy.
Speaking on CNN Sept. 29, DeLay said Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle, who led the grand jury, led them to indict him as part “of a political witch hunt, trying to do political damage. . . . In my case, he did it in conjunction and working with the Democratic leadership here in Washington, D.C.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that charge was completely baseless.
Earle is a Democrat, although he has prosecuted Democratic and Republican officials alike in Texas.
DeLay has been a darling of religious conservatives, most recently playing a prominent role in attempts to keep Terri Schiavo's feeding tube from being removed.
Some of DeLay's erstwhile supporters on the Religious Right cautioned against rushing to judgment.
“We must all remember that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council.
He added that DeLay “has been a stalwart friend of the family, and Family Research Council is not a fair-weather friend. Tom DeLay is a great leader for pro-family public policies of enduring importance to the nation. Many Democrats want to turn the indictment of Tom DeLay into an indictment of the ideas he champions. Partisan or ideological exploitation of a matter that is now in the judicial process is wholly irresponsible.”
House ethics rules required DeLay to step down after the indictment. House Speaker Denny Hastert (R-Ill.) announced that Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) would be his replacement. Blunt is a former president of Southwest Baptist University in Missouri.