Houston Democrats

DeLay says the trip was paid for by a non-profit based in Washington. However, others involved in making the travel arrangements disagree. They say the cost was covered by a "mysterious company" registered in the Bahamas that happened to also contribute $440,000 lobbying campaign (Wouldn't it be interesting if the mysterious company turned out to be an offshore Enron subsidiary?). However, it is not known how the money was transferred from the Bahamian company to the nonprofit agency.

This story certainly would not be complete without the regular appearances of Jack Abramoff and that National Center for Public Policy Research. Well, guess what? They are involved as well.

ENTER: Jack Abramoff

He is the lobbyist who is suspected of having used several non-profit organizations to help fund Tom DeLay's overseas trips as well as other inappropriate activities. He is alleged to have been acting on behalf of Chelsea Commercial Enterprises Ltd that has ties with Naftasib, a Russian oil and gas company with connections to Russian security institutions. He apparently presented the idea of the trip to the National Center.

ENTER: National Center for Public Policy Research

It just so happens that Abramoff was on the board of the National Center. The National Center itself is under scrutiny for allegations that it funneled $50,000 from Indian tribes that supported gambling to pay for a mid-2000 DeLay trip to the UK in which Abramoff was a key organizer as well.

See previous posts: "WSJ Rips DeLay" (March 28) and "Senate Launches Abramoff Probe" (March 17).

Of course DeLay is saying this is just another part of the on-going "conspiracy to 'destroy the conservative movement' by attacking its leaders."

The Washington Post does a superb job of detailing this latest junket to come to light. Click here to read the complete Washington Post article.

And if that wasn't enough for you. Here is an article from the New York Times stating that Tom DeLay's wife and daughter have been paid over $500,000 since 2001 by DeLay's political action and campaign committees.

Go to "Encourage Our Representatives and Senators to Dump Delay" to send an e-mail to your federal representatives calling for Tom DeLay to resign.