US judge rules former Republican leader must face trial

A judge of the south-central US state of Texas ruled on Monday that Republican lawmaker Tom DeLay must face a trial for money laundering but dismissed conspiracy charges against the former House majority leader.

State Judge Pat Priest quashed the conspiracy charges against DeLay, who was forced to step down as House majority leader in late September when he was first indicted for his role in a campaign financing scandal in the state, on the ground that the actions were not a crime at the time DeLay was charged with violating them.

Priest, however, upheld the money laundering charges against DeLay, who has denied any wrongdoing.

DeLay had hoped to dismiss all the charges quickly so that he could reclaim his leadership post and end the matter long before the November 2006 congressional elections.

DeLay was facing three counts of charges of conspiracy and money laundering, which stemmed from allegations that a Texas political action committee he founded funneled corporate money into state Republican legislative races through the National Republican Party. Texas law prohibits the use of corporate money in state political campaigns.

Source: Xinhua