Has DeLay’s former Deputy Chief of Staff
&nbsp  been flipped?

So the Houston Chronicle reports. If so, DeLay’s goose is well and truly cooked.

Michael Hedges of the Houston Chronicle buries it in graf 31 of a summary story about Tom DeLay’s troubles, but Laura at War and Piece catches it (and PBD picks it up from there):

Tom DeLay’s former Deputy Chief of Staff, Tony Rudy (“Staffer A” in the Abramoff indictment) is “reportedly working with Federal investigators probing Abramoff’s web of corruption.”

If the prosecutors have indeed gotten Rudy to “flip,” DeLay’s goose is well and thoroughly cooked. But it’s a little bit hard to believe that the Chronicle reporter scored such a huge newsbeat without noticing its significance. If it had been my story, the lead would have been “Tom DeLay’s former Deputy Chief of staff is now working with investigators probing ‘superlobbyist’ Jack Abramoff’s web of corruption, putting DeLay in serious legal jeopardy.”

I’ve written to Michael Hedges for clarification, and will relay whatever I get.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com