Am I not right that Faircloth was defeated in November?
Is it not interesting that despite that and the fall of Gingrich, the Republican Party has been so well coordinated in opposing compromises over impeachment. CNN Tuesday night was attributing this to the prompt way that Representative Tom DeLay, from Texas, Republican Whip, had got them all in line, expecially to block a compromise censure motion. His quick biography stated that he had had his own pest extermination business, and showed him speaking at a gathering of the Christian Coalition. Of Clinton he said "I do not believe a word he says".
Nothing was said about his links with tobacco. But if the quote from Waxman is right as used in the Observer article, it would surprising if he had not made use of the tobacco firms' private airlines. Anyone know any more details of links? Remember it is possible that the Clinton camp knows these things and have decided it is tactically unwise to try to present this in public as a show down with tobacco.
In view of the amount of fees earned by the so-called Independent Prosecutor from tobacco (see post How Big Tobacco Smoked Out the President) it was interesting to read this heartfelt plea for the taxpayer from DeLay on this website (see below)
Anyone know more explicit links direct or indirect between DeLay and tobacco sponsorship?
Chris Burford
London
>From DeLay's website:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 1998
DeLay Attacks Attorney Windfall
in Tobacco Settlement
Signs on to Amicus Brief Challenging High Legal Fees
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land) joined a group Tuesday challenging what he described as an "outrageous" payment to the attorneys who reached a settlement between the state of Texas and tobacco companies. The settlement, approved by a U. S. District Court in January, awards the attorneys $2.3 billion in fees for their work on the case.
"This is an outrageous amount of money to dump into the pockets of self-interested attorneys," DeLay said on Tuesday. "It baffles me that any court would approve this unprecedented sum. This is a deal struck by lawyers, for lawyers."
The amicus curiae brief filed by the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF), challenges the amount of the fee and the process for awarding it. One estimate suggests that the fee amounts to a rate of approximately $100,000 per hour assuming the attorneys worked exclusively on the case for the past two years. It challenges the fee as excessive and claims that any award of attorneys’ fees must be preceded by a submission of time records by the attorneys. The fifteen percent fee grossly exceeds the standard fee for major class action cases, according to WLF.
DeLay, who has been an outspoken critic of the large attorneys’ fees contained in the proposed federal tobacco settlement, joins Governor George Bush and several state legislators in decrying the fees agreed upon in the Texas settlement. "I cannot in good
conscience sit idly by as the trial attorneys enrich themselves at the expense of the people," DeLay commented. "I urge the court to inject some reasonableness into this matter."
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas will hold a hearing on the case, State of Texas v. American Tobacco Co., on Thursday, March 19. WLF is a non-profit public interest law and policy center based in Washington, DC.
###