Perp drops off hook ... for now

Former majority leader Tom DeLay was back in his natural element Thursday, glad-handing lawmakers on the House floor in the building where he inspired a mix of fear, loathing and loyalty for a dozen years.

The Texas Republican had reason to celebrate: A three-judge appeals court panel ruled 2 to 1 along party lines Thursday to overturn his conviction on criminal charges of conspiring to funnel corporate money to state legislative candidates, calling the evidence “legally insufficient.”...WaPo

DeLay has -- since leaving Capitol Hill as an indicted politician and party leader -- stayed on Capitol Hill as a lobbyist. 

Democrats targeted DeLay for years as he marshaled enormous sums from business interests and Christian conservatives, expanding Republican influence in Washington and in his home state. At one point, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lodged racketeering charges against him, saying he pressured contributors to donate to the GOP and then directed the money to nonprofit political groups that did not disclose their activities. ...WaPo

DeLay believes he has powerful support.

“I just thank the Lord for carrying me through all of this,” Mr. DeLay told reporters as he left a meeting of the Texas Republican delegation. “It really drove my detractors crazy because I had the joy of Jesus in me, and they didn’t understand it.”...NYT

The original accusations were dismissed by fellow Republicans as politically motivated.  But they weren't.  DeLay has a long history of dirty hands.

Still, given the long list of ethical questions that have clouded Mr. DeLay’s career — the former congressman said he had spent nearly $12 million on legal bills, fending off everything from the Congressional ethics committee to the Department of Justice — the decision appears to fall short of a complete ethical cleansing.

When he stepped down as majority leader in 2005, and later decided not to seek re-election from his district in Sugarland, Mr. DeLay, now 66, faced not only the indictment in Texas but also an investigation by the Department of Justice into his relationship with Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist at the heart of an ethics investigation.

The Justice Department never brought charges against Mr. DeLay for, among other things, accepting gifts from Mr. Abramoff like a 10-day golf trip to Scotland and England for Mr. DeLay, his wife and some staff members. ...NYT

In Texas, the office of the Travis County district attorney that nailed him will appeal the overturn of his conviction. DeLay has a long, dirty record.