- McCain defends DeLay, says charges aren’t true in Texas case
During an appearance on John Carlson’s Seattle talk-radio show Tuesday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) faced down a caller who wondered what prompted McCain to hire Terry Nelson, former deputy chief of staff at the Republican National Committee (RNC), as a senior advisor to his Straight Talk America PAC.
The caller echoed criticisms leveled by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that Nelson’s involvement in the money-laundering case against Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) imperils McCain’s reputation as a reformer.
“None of those charges are true,” McCain said of the Texas indictment against DeLay. The indictment alleges that the former House Majority Leader helped steer illegal corporate contributions through the RNC and back into seven Texas state legislature races.
“You don’t believe what was actually written in the indictment from Texas?” the caller asked. Prior to the call, McCain has shied away from publicly defending DeLay since the indictment was first filed in September.
McCain repeated that he did not, sparking nervous laughter from host Carlson and sending the presidential hopeful into a chuckle of his own.
“I will check it out, but I have never heard of such a thing,” McCain explained, seemingly referring to Nelson’s alleged receipt of a campaign check from DeLay employee Jim Ellis, as discussed in the DeLay indictment.
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