Texas judge says DeLay group violated law

AUSTIN, Texas — A state judge ruled yesterday that the treasurer of a political fund-raising committee organized by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, violated the state's election law by failing to report $684,507 in contributions from corporations and other donors in 2002.

The civil-court decision is the first to uphold a complaint by Democrats about the way DeLay and his advisers financed a 2002 political victory in Texas, which ultimately helped cement Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The fund-raising committee, Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), following a plan devised by the DeLay camp, helped elect the first Republican majority in the Texas House in 130 years. That allowed DeLay's allies in the state Legislature to redraw congressional districts and elect four additional Republicans to the U.S. House in 2004.

The decision by state District Judge Joseph Hart focused on the liability of the committee's treasurer and did not mention DeLay, who has denied involvement in any improprieties. The judge did not rule explicitly on the wider issue of whether the contributions — as opposed to the failure to report them — were illegal.

Separate criminal charges related to that issue, including indictments of three political associates of DeLay and four of the corporations that provided contributions, are pending in another Texas court.

The judge ruled that the treasurer, Bill Ceverha, must pay five Democratic candidates who lost their elections a combined $196,660 in damages.

Bobby Burchfield, a lawyer for DeLay, said "the entire TRMPAC controversy really has very little to do" with the majority leader, a circumstance he said was confirmed by the absence of any mention of DeLay in the ruling.

DeLay, asked by a CNN reporter if the ruling had implications for him, said, "Not for me. I'm not part of it."

But lawyers for the five defeated Texas Democratic state Legislature candidates who brought the lawsuit said the opinion provides a foundation for future court rulings against DeLay's committee and those connected to it.

Cris Feldman, a lawyer for the defeated candidates, said in a statement: "today's opinion is an important first step in holding accountable Texans for a Republican Majority for its illegal use of secret corporate cash in the 2002 Texas state elections."

Terry Scarborough, who represented TRMPAC and its treasurer, responded with a written statement saying "we feel strongly that this decision is wrong."