Barbara Lee's Statement on the Indictment of Tom DeLay

(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) issued the following statement on the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) by a Texas grand jury on charges of criminal conspiracy:

“The indictment of Tom DeLay is just further evidence of the culture of corruption and cronyism that has come to permeate Washington under Republican leadership.

“The fact is that the Senate Majority Leader is under investigation by the SEC, a top White House official in charge of government procurement was arrested, President Bush’s top advisor Karl Rove continues to be investigated for his role in the outing of an undercover CIA agent and ongoing revelations in the case of lobbyist and DeLay crony Jack Abramoff suggest that there are plenty more of the same kind of scandals, just waiting to come to light.

“Republicans took over the majority in 1994 by promising to clean up Washington. Ten years later, it’s clear they’ve done just the opposite, at the expense of the American people. Now it is clear that they are more concerned with protecting themselves and their own than dealing with the pressing issues that face our nation.

“As long as Republicans continue to put cronies and special interests ahead of the American people, the results will be taxpayer money being spent on unfair contracts, higher prices at the pump, and no relief to the survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”

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