Democratic committee files suit against DeLay over fund-raising

May 3, 2000
Web posted at: 1:10 p.m. EDT (1710 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee filed a suit Wednesday against House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), accusing him of using three committees he controls -- the Republican Majority Issues Committee, the U.S. Family Network and Americans for Economic Growth -- to engage in practices of extortion and money laundering.

Rep. Tom DeLay

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-Rhode Island) said the committee's lawyers on Wednesday filed a civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington.

"Nobody takes this seriously," said DeLay spokesman Jonathan Baron. "This is a hackneyed tactic. It is ridiculous on its face."

He said the Democratic campaign committee "must think they're starring in an episode of 'The Sopranos.'"

The suit includes what Democratic committee sources claim are "dozens" of examples of DeLay illegally moving money around between his three committees and using them to threaten and pressure people and organizations to give money to Republicans and withhold money from Democrats.

The Republican Issues Majority Committee aims to spend about $25 million on voter registration, turnout and issue ads in about two dozen congressional districts. It was organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, a murky legal area that essentially allows groups to raise and spend unlimited sums on political activities without any disclosure requirements.

The so-called 527 groups, often called "stealth PACs," can advocate for any political purpose short of directly promoting a specific candidate. The two other committees are 501(c)4s, meaning they can engage in issue advocacy and lobbying, but only 49 percent of their activities can be considered political.

The DCCC filed a complaint with the Justice Department about the DeLay committees last year, which was referred back to the Federal Election Commission. A representative of DeLay called the charges contained in that complaint "absolutely false."