DeLay Rep Says Boss Not Swayed by Donors

Rep. Tom DeLay Spokesman Says Congressman Not Influenced by Donations to Nonprofit

The Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON Dec 31, 2005 — A spokesman for embattled Rep. Tom DeLay on Saturday disputed any assertion that donations to a nonprofit group linked to the congressman influenced his legislative agenda.

Those donations, to a now-disbanded nonprofit group called U.S. Family Network, came from interests close to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a story in Saturday's Washington Post.

In an e-mail, DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said the donations were not a factor in the congressional activities of the Texas Republican and former House majority leader.

"Mr. DeLay makes decisions and sets legislative priorities based on good policy and what is best for his constituents and the country. Any suggestion of outside influence is manipulative and absurd," Madden said. "Mr. DeLay has very firm beliefs and he fights very hard for them."

The U.S. Family Network was founded by Ed Buckham, a close adviser and former chief of staff to DeLay. The congressman promoted the group in a 1999 fundraising letter, and it received $2.5 million in donations from its founding in 1996 until it disbanded five years later, the Post reported.

According to the Post, the donations included:

$1 million in 1998 from a London law firm that was channeled from two Russian oil executives. The executives denied the transaction ever took place, but a former president of the U.S. Family Network said he was told money was to influence DeLay's position on a possible tax increase in Russia. DeLay spoke out against the possible increase, which was tied to potential international loans to bail out Russia's troubled economy.

In 1997, DeLay visited Russia and met with those executives, the Post said. DeLay spokesman Madden said the purpose of the trip was "primarily to meet with religious leaders there. Religious persecution was a problem that Mr. DeLay hoped to address. The trip was dedicated to exploring substantive policy issues affecting Russian-American relations."

$500,000 in 1998 and 1999 from textile companies in the Mariana Islands. DeLay committed to blocking legislation that would increase those companies' labor costs.