DeLay, successor Blunt swapped donations

The AP just broke a major story on the ties betwen Majority Leader Roy Blunt and Rep. Tom DeLay.   And now they have added a snazzy timeline to their piece.

Here's the lede from the story:

Tom DeLay deliberately raised more money than he needed to throw parties at the 2000 presidential convention, then diverted some of the excess to longtime ally Roy Blunt through a series of donations that benefited both men's causes.

When the financial carousel stopped, DeLay's private charity, the consulting firm that employed DeLay's wife and the Missouri campaign of Blunt's son all ended up with money, according to campaign documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Missourians will certainly appreciate the irony of the carousel line from the story.  Blunt created a major stir among Republicans in the 1992 primary for Governor when he ran the infamous "carousel ad" that accused Attorney General Bill Webster of using his official position to shake down lawyers for contributions to his campaigns.  Blunt lost the primary to Webster.  Webster ultimately served a prison term.

For extensive Fired Up! coverage of ties between Blunt and DeLay, click here.

Note:  Fired Up! first reported on these transactions on June 9, 2005.  To see the reports that show the contributions from DeLay to Blunt, click here.  For all ROYB reports for 1999 and 2000, click here.