Culture of Corruption: Federal lawyers overruled on DeLay-led remapping

WASHINGTON -- Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) violated the Voting Rights Act, but senior officials overruled them and approved the plan, according to a previously undisclosed memo.


The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.

But the Texas Legislature proceeded with the new map anyway because it would maximize the number of Republican federal lawmakers in the state, the memo said. The redistricting was approved in 2003, and Texas Republicans gained five seats in the U.S. House in 2004.

The 73-page memo, dated Dec. 12, 2003, has been kept under wraps for two years. Lawyers who worked on the case were subjected to an unusual gag rule. The memo was provided to The Washington Post by someone connected to the case who is critical of the outcome.