Roadmap to a Scandal

The first TRMPAC-related trial set the stage for the criminal process to come

BY JAKE BERNSTEIN

oe Crews is relating how he convinced his partners at the law firm of Ivy, Crews & Elliott to jump into litigation involving the 2002 election. “I told them ‘it’s going to be a pain in the ass, cost a lot of money, and take a long time to resolve,” he laughs.

On November 22, 2002, the firm had filed a lawsuit against the Texas Association of Business after its president, Bill Hammond, boasted that the TAB’s use of corporate cash “blew the doors off the November 5 general election using an unprecedented show of muscle that featured political contributions and a massive voter education drive.” As the TAB case languished on appeal, new facts emerged about the involvement of Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC) in the 2002 campaign. The PAC, founded by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land), had filed documents with the IRS that revealed more than $700,000 in corporate contributions that had not been disclosed to the Texas Ethics Commission.