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Tom DeLay Indicted for Criminal Conspiracy; Thousands Line up for aid in Houston

Aired September 28, 2005 - 13:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: DeLay as defendant. Texas justice for the firebrand former leader of Republicans in the House of Representatives. A conspiracy indictment handed up in Austin by the grand jury investigating Tom DeLay's PAC, Texans for Republican Majority. His lawyer calls the charge skunky, but DeLay is giving up his leadership post, but not his seat, while he fights it.
We get the latest now from CNN's congressional correspondent, Joe Johns.

Bring us up to date, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, well, Tom DeLay is essentially accused of taking corporate political contributions in violation of Texas law, conspiring to run them through the RNC office up here in Washington, D.C., and then back to Texas, where people who are running for the Texas legislature were able to take advantage of those contributions. DeLay, we're expecting a statement from him a little later today. He is already put a little something out, saying, in part, that he has notified the speaker of the House that he'll temporarily step aside pursuant to the rules of the House Republican Conference.

Now, DeLay's spokesman, Kevin Madden, has also put out a statement saying, "These charges have no basis in the facts or the law. This is another example of Ronnie Earle" -- who is the prosecutor in Travis County who brought these charges through the grand jury -- "for misusing his office for partisan vendettas."

We have gotten a lot of other comments. Of course chiefly from the White House. The press secretary today indicating that they will watch the legal process play out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, Congressman DeLay is a good ally, a leader who we have worked closely with to get things done for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Certainly set off a political firestorm here in Washington. The next question is, who will succeed Tom DeLay in the position of majority leader of the House of Representatives? That, Kyra, is still up in the air.

PHILLIPS: All right. Joe Johns, thank you.

Well, DeLay has come a mighty long way from his pest control days in Houston, but friends and foes alike might agree his killer instincts have served him well in Washington. Our coverage continues with a profile CNN's Candy Crowley filed just a few months back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As a bug exterminator driven to politics by his fury over environmental rules, he once called the EPA the Gestapo of government. After the president, he may be the most powerful man in Washington.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The majority leader of the House of Representatives, Tom DeLay of Texas.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWLEY: Tom DeLay came to power the old-fashioned way, under his own steam, building a base of loyalties, collecting chips.

BOB BARR (R), FMR. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: He's worked for each member to get elected and to be reelected. That is something that members don't forget, or forget at their own peril.

CROWLEY: Last year, DeLay, a prodigious fundraiser, gave more money to congressional candidates than any other lawmaker. A decade ago, he was a relative unknown in a minority party. But DeLay was setting the type for his headliner status, sending cash and care packages to the campaigns of Republican hopefuls in the class of '94.

REP. DAVID DREIER (R-CA), RULES CHAIRMAN: So a candidate for Congress who would be out knocking on doors, meeting with supporters, talking about issues, debating his or her opponent, would come back to the headquarters and they would say, this guy, Tom DeLay, just sent home-baked cookies from Texas.

CROWLEY: When the House opened for business in '95, Republicans were in charge for the first time in four decades. Many of them owed Tom DeLay.

He was elected whip, the person responsible for rounding up votes. He was very good at it. Someone once called him a cross between a concierge and a Mafia don, a guy who delivered.

BILL PAXON (R), FMR. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Was the kind of person who would always reach out to help, help with your political needs, your congressional needs, your personal needs.

CROWLEY: A guy who expected loyalty.

CHARLIE STENHOLM (D), FMR. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: If anyone within his own party disagrees with him, they find an opponent waiting in the wings in the next primary, they find a threat to reduce the amount of funding available to them.

CROWLEY: They call him "The Hammer," pounding money out of donors...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's $10,,200.

DENNIS HASTERT, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The gentleman from Texas...

CROWLEY: ... pounding votes out of colleagues. Pounding the Democrats.

ERIC SMITH, FMR. DEMOCRATIC AIDE: There were countless times on the House floor when Democrats would feel like we had finally pulled one off and we were finally going to win, and the clock and the vote would stop, and Tom DeLay would appear on the floor and Republican members would start walking to the well (ph) of the House to change their votes.

CROWLEY: Eight years as whip, three now as majority leader, he is a brass knuckles conservative in relentless pursuit of his agenda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every morning when he wakes up, he is trying to figure out a way that the conservatives can win and that the Democrats lose.

CROWLEY: In Texas, DeLay pushed the state legislature to redraw district lines to favor Republican elections. When minority Democrats fled the state to prevent a vote, he called the FAA to find out where they went.

STENHOLM: He was a bulldog, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. And some of his tactics are being reviewed by the proper legal authorities. And I'll leave it to them whether anything was illegal or not.

CROWLEY: Drawn into a district he couldn't win, Charlie Stenholm is now a former congressman, one of the Texas Democrats who lost their congressional seat in 2004. And Tom DeLay got six more Texas Republicans in Washington to help move the agenda.

Smaller government, lower taxes, fewer regulations. He is the go-to guy for getting legislation through Congress. Donors want to give him money. Lobbyists want to please him, or at least not make him mad. Power begets more power.

DeLay warned pro-business lobbies to stop giving money to Democratic candidates. H He pushed K Street, Washington speak for lobbyists and trade associations, to hire Republicans. He expanded his reach.

STUART ROY, FMR. DELAY AIDE: There are certainly a lot of people in the government relations world, public relations, who are close to Tom DeLay and who are able to look out for him, be eyes and ears.

CROWLEY: Bloomberg News found more than 200 companies, coalitions and trade groups have hired former DeLay employees as lobbyists. Never charged with violating House rules, DeLay has gone to the edge, warned by the Ethics Committee on four separate occasions.

His colleagues are loyal, his critics intense. And all agree on this...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, that's the thing about DeLay, is that he always wins.

CROWLEY: Tom DeLay wields great power with no apology, few boundaries, and no one takes odds against him.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And DeLay's camp calls today's indictment, among other things, prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat, referring to the Austin D.A., Ronnie Earle. But whatever or whoever is behind it, the conspiracy charge is now a matter for the courts, and that brings us to CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeff toobin.

And maybe we should talk about that conspiracy charge. Do a little conspiracy charge 101, Jeff.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, a conspiracy charge is an agreement to commit a crime, as opposed to committing a crime itself. The idea is, if more than one person agrees to do something unlawful, that is a crime even if neither one of them ultimately do anything unlawful. And that's what Tom DeLay is charged with here in terms of illegal campaign contributions in Texas.

PHILLIPS: So should we say then it's not as bad as it may seem? Is that fair?

TOOBIN: Well, I mean, you know, not really, because the charge is there. You know, the real consequence to Tom DeLay is today. He has to step down as majority leader today.

And I think one important thing to remember about this, Kyra, is that these charges in this investigation take months and months to resolve. So even if DeLay is ultimately acquitted, as he may be -- I, of course, have no idea -- it won't be until well into 2006 at the earliest. And that means he's going to have to run for reelection as an indicted individual.

And, you know, he doesn't have as safe a seat as some of the other Texas Republicans. So he's -- you know, he's in potentially -- in danger of losing his job, as well as his freedom.

PHILLIPS: We talked about that, jail time, and also losing his job. Both a possibility. But then when we talk about the conspiracy charge, I mean, it gets a little more sticky, because that means there are other people involved.

So could we see a lot of finger pointing and blame game, and he might come forward and say, hey, look, I wasn't there, or I didn't talk to this person, or, no, it was that person? There are more players involved with this type of charge.

TOOBIN: Absolutely. And in white collar investigations, you know, prosecutorial conduct 101 is you get the lower level people to flip against the upper level people. And there are other people who have been charged in this investigation.

So far, and I emphasize "so far," it does not appear that many of them are flipping against Tom DeLay. But you can be sure that Ronnie Earle will be looking to make deals with the lower level people because the big fish here is Tom DeLay.

Again, it's going to take months. And during those months, guilty or not, Tom DeLay is not going to be majority leader anymore.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey Toobin, thank you.

And turning now to the recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast, where victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita are still looking for help, this is just part of the line outside the FEMA recovery center in Houston where storm victims are applying for assistance.

Reggie Akui of CNN affiliate KHOU has been watching all the developments.

What can you tell us, Reggie?

REGGIE AKUI, REPORTER, KHOU: Kyra, it's a hundred degrees in Houston today, so imagine what that is like standing in a line four rows deep. This is the end of the line. These folks have been in line for about five hours.

They've tried to make it more comfortable with ice and water, but at one point, about an hour ago, the police and FEMA decided to shut this line down. Oh, there were plenty of people who wanted to get in it, but they were just afraid that these folks would start to drop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AKUI (voice over): Pretty much everybody was tired. But imagine waiting all night in line for FEMA help with a throbbing pain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all here, just one big family, just trying to survive.

AKUI: Alice Bisby (ph) has such a sunny disposition, it took us a few moments to even realize she had a badly burnt hand. You see, over the weekend, when the lights went out in Beaumont, a candle got too close.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, I'm just putting ointment on it and trying to keep it clean until I can get, you know, medical treatment.

AKUI: That's how desperate for help and information these Katrina and now, like Alice Bisby (ph), Rita evacuees are. They will camp out for hours, despite the heat, despite the lines, despite the injuries.

A police officer helped us get Alice Bisby (ph) some medical help, but none of us outside could get her everything she needs. That would come hours later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew there was going to be a lot of people, but we didn't expect this kind of a turnout today.

AKUI: Nine hours after this woman got in line...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We feel it's a whole lot better for us...

AKUI: ... the people from so many Gulf Coast towns run out by two ferocious storms...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my heart. I'm so scared.

AKUI: ... register for FEMA money, housing, food stamps. Two weeks ago, Alice Bisby (ph) watched these lines on TV. She never thought she'd be in them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AKUI: A lot of these folks have been through both hurricanes. They are frustrated, they are tired, and they are dehydrated. And anyone who didn't get here hours ago to be at the end of this line that we're seeing cycle through right now will have to come in tomorrow and start this process all over again, which means, Kyra, most likely tonight we're going to see people starting to line up at around 8:00 or 9:00 for tomorrow's opening at 8:00 a.m.

PHILLIPS: So Reggie, up to nine hours standing in line, finally they fill out the paperwork. When do they actually get the cash or the stamps, or exactly what it is that they need?

AKUI: Well, good question. FEMA is saying they are so overloaded that they can't guarantee folks that it will be here in the two to three days that they originally wanted to have that timeline scheduled in. So it could take a week, maybe even more.

Some of these folks are really frustrated because they're coming in expecting that they're going to have all of the services provided for them immediately. And the people from Rita are finding out that some of these agencies aren't ready for them yet. Right now, some of them are only taking the Katrina victims. So a lot of confusion and frustration here in the hundred-degree heat.

PHILLIPS: Wow. It just doesn't get any easier for any of those individuals. Thanks, Reggie. We'll stay in touch with you.

And straight ahead, as the water levels go down, hopes of getting back home go up to residents in the hurricane zone, but will they be able to salvage any pieces of their old lives? We're going to talk about that straight ahead.

And questionable contrast. Is FEMA wasting millions of dollars in some of its efforts to help hurricane victims? We're going in- depth straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, as conditions gradually improving in hurricane- ravaged New Orleans, residents are slowly returning to their homes. Sometimes the destruction they find is pretty overwhelming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY SINGLETON, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: It's gone. We have nothing. It's gone.

It's just -- I don't know how to describe it. It's just, I don't want to go back to it. You know, last week we came in, and I guess like in a state of shock we tried to retrieve everything.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tried to pick up objects.

SINGLETON: Objects, anything. Anything that was tangible that you could take with you, because it's gone. When I say we have nothing, I have nothing. The house I can live with, but it's the content in the house.

COOPER: And you tried to clean those objects.

SINGLETON: I tried to take clothes and tried to wash. And I have washed and washed and washed. And the stench is still in the clothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And there are grim homecomings all over the Gulf region. The sheriff in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, says that many residents are wondering when or if they will ever be able to rebuild.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JACK STEPHENS, ST. BERNARD PARISH, LOUISIANA: It's been difficult. We were prepared for them to be shocked by what they found. And unfortunately, our expectations were well-founded.

I must have spoken to a 150 families in the last couple of days, and all of them agreed that there was really no way to prepare them for what they would find. I mean, they are courageous people, but this is certainly a life-altering event. And there's so many unanswered questions surrounding their future right now that there's a high degree of anxiety with respect to what happens to them.

First and foremost, with what the insurance adjusters are going to do, and then what the government is going to with regards for them being able to rebuild. Are those options going to be available to them? And I think the worst thing you can deal with in life is uncertainty, and they are dealing with a lot of that right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: And as the New Orleans area is slowly resettled, business owners are facing obstacles, trying to get things up and running again.

Billy Derenbecker is the manager of a New Orleans restaurant. He's in our New Orleans bureau.

And, of course, we all know the restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp.

Hi, Billy.

BILLY, DERENBECKER, RESTAURANT MANAGER: Hi? How are you?

PHILLIPS: Well, I think I'm probably doing a little better than you are. I hate to say that, but it's sure good to see you, see you smiling. And hopefully there's some light at the end of the tunnel for you.

What's your biggest challenge right now?

DERENBECKER: Well, our biggest challenge right now is definitely our staff. You know, we can do as much cleanup as we can. Our physical plan is starting to come together. But the biggest thing is our staff.

We have about 125 employees. We've been in contact with all but five of those employees.

Unfortunately, they're scattered all across the country. We have no idea when they're going to be able to come home, and then when they are able to come home, what the conditions are going to be like when they get here.

PHILLIPS: Now, you're...

DERENBECKER: We've done -- I'm sorry. Go ahead.

PHILLIPS: I'm sorry. Go ahead, Billy. No, no, go ahead.

DERENBECKER: Well, we've done -- we've done as much as we can as a company. You know, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company has managed to raise about $240,000 for our staff, of which we've distributed $205,000 to our staff members so far. We've also managed to collect about 200 boxes of clothes that we've shipped out to various locations where our employees are to help them out as best we can to get back on their feet.

PHILLIPS: Wow. How did you raise the money to keep these folks on the payroll?

DERENBECKER: The biggest way that we've raised our money is through our other employees. We have -- you know, we have 13 other restaurants domestically. And our staff in our other restaurants has done just a tremendous job of doing everything they can, volunteering their time and their own money. Our guests have been tremendous. Viacom, our parent company, has done a -- has really stepped up to the plate for us and really contributed a great deal.

PHILLIPS: Have you been able to account for all of your employees, Billy? I know that there were some that were still missing.

DERENBECKER: All but five. There's still five employees that we have not been able to account for.

PHILLIPS: Wow. And a lot of them in shelters, too, right?

DERENBECKER: A lot of our employees are in shelters. Most of the employees that were in shelters at one time are now either in a hotel or have hooked up with family or friends, other places in the country.

We do have a few employees that we've managed to get into some of our other locations, people who were willing to go to Daytona Beach or Miami or some of our other spots, and manage to continue to work for the company at another location. So that's been great as well.

PHILLIPS: Oh, that's good. Well, I've got to ask you, how are you getting -- how are you getting the shrimp? How are you going to get the shrimp, I guess I should ask.

DERENBECKER: Well, that's a good question. You know, I'm sure that we'll find a way to get our shrimp. We manage to find ways to keep the shrimp on the table.

PHILLIPS: I wonder if Forrest Gump can help you in any way. You think?

DERENBECKER: Hopefully he can get out there with Lieutenant Dan and drop the nets.

PHILLIPS: You know what? Wouldn't that be an amazing thing? God bless Lieutenant Dan.

Well, it looks like you're keeping a good -- a good attitude and taking great care of your employees. No doubt, it's tough.

What about cleaning up the restaurant? What has been the biggest challenge right now? I know you and your wife have been working hard with other members of the staff to clean up the restaurant.

DERENBECKER: The biggest thing was last week. Last week was our biggest job. Last Monday and Tuesday, we got all of the food product out.

We figure we probably threw away about $35,000 worth of inventory. That was definitely the worst job I've ever done in my life, was clearing out those coolers that had been sitting there for three weeks. But now that that job is over, it's really just detail cleaning, getting things cleaned up as best we can. But with that over, the hard part is definitely -- is definitely behind us.

PHILLIPS: That's great to hear, Billy. Thank you so much for talking with us today. I look forward to coming back to your restaurant. It's definitely a fun place.

DERENBECKER: Well, thanks a lot. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Billy.

Well, it may not be on the menu at Bubba Gump, but a colossal calamari is definitely capturing the imagination of scientists. They took the first-ever pictures of a giant squid in action. We're going to have that story later on LIVE FROM.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No giant squid here, but a giant excuse. I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.

More people are making late credit card payments, and there is a common thread as to why. We'll tell you what it is next on LIVE FROM.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A new warning from President Bush tops our "Security Watch" today. After a briefing from the top U.S. commander in Iraq and the head of the U.S. Central Command, Mr. Bush warned that insurgents in Iraq will step up attacks in a bid to stop next month's voting on a new constitution.

His remarks came the day after Iraqi and U.S. forces said they killed Abdullah Abu Azzam, the number two al Qaeda leader in Iraq. Mr. Bush says that regardless of what the insurgents may try to do next month, American troops are ready.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our strategy is clear in Iraq. We're hunting down high-value targets like Azzam and Zarqawi. We're coordinating aggressive counter-terrorism operations in the areas where the terrorists are concentrated.

We're constantly adapting our tactics to the changing tactics of the terrorists. We're training more Iraqi forces to assume increasing responsibility for their country's security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Despite President Bush's tough words, Iraqi insurgents are pressing ahead with deadly attacks. The latest, a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside an Iraqi army recruiting center, killing at least five other people and wounding dozens more in the northern city of Tal Afar. Tal Afar is where U.S. and Iraqi forces routed militants in a major offensive two weeks ago.

Also, three soldiers were killed in two separate roadside bombings near the border with Kuwait. The number of American troops killed in Iraq is now 1,929.

Three years behind bars and a dishonorable discharge, that's the sentence for Army Private First Class Lynndie England, perhaps the most visible symbol of the U.S. military abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. One of the most infamous photos of the abuse showed England holding a naked prisoner on a leash.

England says that she took part in the abuse to please her soldier boyfriend, Charles Graner. Graner, as you know, who prosecutors say was the ringleader in the abuse, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Well, it's been a deadly day on another battlefield of President Bush's war on terror, Afghanistan. An apparent suicide bombing killed at least nine Afghan soldiers outside an army base near Kabul. It's the latest in a series of attacks since national elections just 10 days ago. Yesterday, a national assembly candidate was killed in a drive-by shooting.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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