Tom DeLay

Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. A Republican, DeLay represented Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He served as House majority leader from 2003 to 2005. DeLay began his political career in 1978 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984. In 1988, DeLay was appointed deputy minority whip. In 1994, he helped Newt Gingrich orchestrate the Republican Revolution, which swept Democrats from power in both houses of Congress and put Republicans in control of the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. In 1995, DeLay was elected House majority whip. With the Republicans in control of both chambers in Congress, DeLay and conservative activist Grover Norquist helped start the K Street Project in an effort to advance Republican ideals. DeLay was elected House majority leader after the 2002 midterm elections. He was known as a staunch conservative during his years in Congress. In 2005, a Travis County grand jury indicted DeLay on criminal charges of conspiracy to violate election law by campaign money laundering. DeLay temporarily resigned from his position as House majority leader and later announced that he would not seek to return. He resigned his seat in Congress in June 2006. DeLay was convicted in January 2011 and sentenced to three years in prison, but was free on bail while appealing his conviction. The trial court's judgment was overturned by the Austin Court of Appeals, a Texas intermediate appellate court, on September 19, 2013; the Court of Appeals ruled that "the evidence in the case was 'legally insufficient to sustain DeLay's convictions'", and acquitted DeLay. The acquittal...