TRMPAC loses in court

This is big news:

TRMPAC violated state law, judge rules
Ceverha forced to pay damages to defeated candidates. By Laylan Copelin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, May 26, 2005

The treasurer for Texans for a Republican Majority violated state election laws when he did not disclose more than $600,000 in corporate money the committee spent during the 2002 legislative campaigns, state District Judge Joe Hart ruled this morning.

Hart ruled there was overwhelming evidence that the political committee created by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, raised and spent the corporate money to help elect Republican legislators. He rejected arguments that the money was used to administer the political committee and that the money wasn't used to "expressly advocate" the election or to defeat candidates.

It'll be appealed of course, but this bodes well for the ongoing criminal trials as well.