Christine DeLay
Christine DeLay, wife of disgraced former House Majority Leader Thomas D. DeLay, was paid $115,000 "during a three-year period" by the Alexander Strategy Group, a Washington, DC, lobbying firm founded "with help from — and did business with — lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty" on January 3 and 4, 2006, "to several felony charges, including conspiracy to bribe public officials." [1]
The Group, also "now the object of a criminal probe," which shutdown January 9, 2006, was "run by Edwin A. Buckham, DeLay’s former chief of staff. His partners include DeLay’s former Deputy Chief of Staff Tony C. Rudy and Karl Gallant, whom DeLay recruited in 1995 to run his fund-raising organization," Americans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee. [2]
Christine DeLay was "'paid by Alexander to work on a project and the project enabled her to do it from Houston,' Richard Cullen, one of Tom DeLay’s attorneys," said January 9, 2006. "'She would contact the ... members of Congress to determine which charity in the congressman’s district was the congressman’s ... that he thought was the best-run or was his favorite charity in that district'," Marty Schladen, reported in the January 10, 2006, Galveston County, Texas, Daily News.
"Christine DeLay then tracked down those charities in each of the nation’s 435 congressional districts. She learned such facts about them as what their tax status was, what geographic districts they operated in and what projects they were working on, Cullen said.
"Cullen said he didn’t know how many hours it took for Christine DeLay to complete the project, nor did he know what Alexander Strategy Group did with the information.
"Cullen said Christine DeLay was not the sort of person to do the job haphazardly.
"She’s not a superficial person,' he said. 'She’s going to do it right'," Schalden wrote.
SourceWatch Resources
- Celebrations for Children Inc.
- DeLay Foundation for Kids
- Thomas D. DeLay: Related SourceWatch Resources
External links
- "Did Washington wives benefit from Abramoff? More might be affected by the latest Washington scandal," MSNBC, January 9, 2006. Video link to January 6, 2006, Washington Wives Club.
- Jeffrey H. Bimbaum and James V. Grimaldi, "Lobby Firm Is Scandal Casualty Abramoff, DeLay Publicity Blamed For Shutdown," The Washington Post, January 10, 2006.
- Marty Schladen, "Attorney: $115,000 paid to DeLay’s wife fair," The Daily News (Galveston County, Texas), January 10, 2006.
- R. Jeffrey Smith, "Retirement Account of DeLay's Wife Traced. With Disclosure, Family's Known Benefits From Ties With Lobbyist Exceed $490,000," Washington Post, June 7, 2006.
- Brody Mullins, "Lobbying Probe Looks at Payments To DeLay's Wife," Wall Street Journal, September 6, 2006.
