Legal Bills Eat Into Tom DeLay's Campaign Cash

RAW STORY

The costs of legal defense relating to investigations and indictments are draining Tom DeLay of money he raised for his cancelled re-election campaign, RAW STORY has learned.

---

Ex-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) has now paid out more than $1.7 million in legal bills resulting from a pair of investigations over the past two years, including close to a half-million dollars in the second quarter of 2006 as he was retiring from the House.

DeLay used what he at the time considered to be leftover campaign funds to pay off some of his legal bills, which was his biggest expenditure during the quarter, and helped slash his cash-on-hand balance by more than half and leaving him with just $641,000 in the campaign account.

With legal bills still mounting — DeLay faces a local trial later this year on campaign finance charges and the probe of ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff continues — he was originally expected to use all his leftover funds to pay a legal team that now includes lawyers from nine different firms.

However, a federal judge ruled earlier this month that DeLay’s name must stay on the ballot. The case is being heard in two weeks by an appellate court, leaving the very real possibility of a DeLay re-election campaign effort — albeit one that would restart at a sizable cash disadvantage.