Justice DeLay-ed

From the Mercury News (and we'll see, I suppose - I suspect that Tom knows where so many bodies are buried, he'll come out of this not having spent a nickel of his own money or doing any time whatsoever):

Rep. Tom DeLay's decision to leave Congress ends his political problems, but his legal woes may be far from over.

The former House majority leader announced his resignation three days after court documents revealed that federal investigators have uncovered evidence of corruption in his leadership office. Tony Rudy, former deputy chief of staff to the powerful Republican congressman from Texas, admitted in a plea agreement that he sold his influence to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff while he was working for DeLay.

Rudy became the second former DeLay aide who's agreed to cooperate with federal investigators in return for a more lenient sentence.

"Any rational person in his (DeLay's) position would be very concerned," said Kendall Coffey, a former federal prosecutor who's now a prominent defense lawyer in Miami. "Whether it's working up the ladder at Enron or a drug organization, it's classic strategy to work up by getting plea agreements and cooperation at each level."

DeLay, who's under indictment in Texas in a separate case involving his handling of campaign contributions, hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing in the Abramoff influence-peddling scandal. The congressman says he was unaware of any illegal activity by Rudy or his former press secretary Michael Scanlon.

Scanlon and Abramoff also are cooperating with prosecutors as part of a plea bargain.
DeLay said his decision to step down had nothing to do with Rudy's plea bargain or any concerns about the criminal investigation.

"I have not been subpoenaed, I have not been talked to," he told National Public Radio. "I know you, the press, has a hard time believing it, but the truth is I am not a target of this investigation. Abramoff has nothing to do with me."