Blunt, Leggett contribute to DeLay defense fund

Ethically-challenged House Republican Leader Tom DeLay of Texas has raised more than $1 million for his defense and $20,000 of that has come from Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt, according to documents filed with House's Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
Blunt's total was far and away the most donated to DeLay by any of his colleagues, the reports indicated. The money provided by Blunt was all given last year, the reports indicate. Only two congressmen provided money to DeLay during 2005.
Other four-state officials who donated to the Texas congressman, all of them Republican U. S. representatives were: Tom Cole, Oklahoma, $1,000; Todd Tiahrt, Kansas, $10,000, Todd Akin, Missouri, $1,000; JoAnn Emerson, Missouri, $1,000; and Frank Lucas, Oklahoma, $1,000.
The documents also indicate that one of the biggest corporate contributors to DeLay was Carthage-based Fortune 500 company Leggett & Platt, which gave him $5,000.
No Missouri individual, other than the aforementioned members of Congress, gave DeLay more than $500.
The House Ethics Committee admonished DeLay for three violations in 2004, and many of his close associates are apparent targets in a grand jury investigation involving corporate money laundering.
More information about the DeLay defense fund can be found at www.citizen.org, the website of Project Citizen.