DeLay, Russian money, and the politics of the war against Milosevich

[LiviaOlivia]

April 06, 2005
Tom DeLay, Russian money, and the politics of the war against Milosevich
by Mark Kleiman

Kevin Drum offers another good reason to move to expel DeLay right now. Kevin recalls correctly that DeLay was on Milosevich's side against Bill Clinton. He doesn't mention the extraordinary maneuver by which DeLay managed to send an encouraging message to the enemy while our men and women in uniform were in harm's way, by promising Clinton a resolution of support for the air war and then arranging for it to come to the floor and fail. (Of course, DeLay wasn't alone among Republicans, back then, in hating the President more than he hated the mass murderer the President was trying to rein in.)

And now we know, as Kevin points out, that DeLay was doing all of this as the beneficiary of largesse from the Russian security services. Taking an expensive vacation at the expense of the military of a foreign power to support America's enemies probably doesn't amount to treason under the Constitutional definition, but it comes close.

The debate on the motion to consider immediate expulsion should be well worth listening to: once Nancy Pelosi offers it, that is.

http://www.markarkleiman.com/archives/corruption_in_washington_/2005/04/tom_delay_russian_money_and_the_politics_of_the_war_against_milosevich.php
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April 6, 2005
Kevin Drum

TOM DELAY AND THE RUSSIANS....Garance Franke-Ruta read to the end of today's Washington Post story about Tom DeLay's 1997 trip to Russia and was appalled to learn that it was financed by a firm with "tight connections to the Russian security establishment":

The United States of America cannot have one of its top congressional leaders taking money from people advocating for Russian military-intelligence and defense interests as part of a lobbying deal. It simply cannot. It is unacceptable for a critical leader in the U.S. government to be taken on a junket by groups working for foreign military interests or lobbying on their behalf, even if indirectly and without his knowledge.

Hmmm. Back in the mid-90s, wasn't DeLay awfully vocal about opposing action to stop Serbian genocide in Kosovo? And wasn't the Russian security establishment one of the biggest defenders of Serb interests?

I wonder if this subject happened to get mentioned between tee shots on that junket?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_04/006041.php

[donkeyotay]

1. Veerie, veerie interesting, Grasshopper

Yesterday I hear ON THE NEWS (!) that the esteemed and extremely Christian Mr. Delay not only blocked action against sweatshops, but against PROSTITUTION! Didn't seem seemly to me! Now, he's involved with Russian intelligence? Oh my. Dirt like this would sink a lesser man. In fact, it seems that Republicans can't do time... kind of like some are above the rule of law or something.