Tom DeLay, 2005 News

House majority leader, was indicted by a Texas grand jury in September. Missouri Representative Roy Blunt replaced him as House majority leader. The indictment accuses DeLay of conspiring to funnel thousands of dollars of corporate campaign donations from the Republican National Committee to candidates for state offices—a violation of Texas election laws. He denied any wrongdoing and called the prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, a “partisan fanatic.” He was indicted again days later and accused of money-laundering. Both indictments are for the same alleged offense. In December, San Antonio judge Pat Priest dismissed one conspiracy charge against Republican Congressman but let stand two others—money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DeLay drew fire in April when he lobbed a series of attacks—and what could be considered threats—on the judiciary, apparently out of anger over a federal court's refusal to order that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube be reinserted. “We will look at an arrogant, out of control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at the Congress and president when given jurisdiction to hear this case anew and look at all the facts . . . The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today,” he said after the court decision.