The Role of Jim Ellis

A car and driver at the disposal of every Republican member of Congress. A five-car hospitality train where lawmakers can unwind and watch the GOP convention in comfort. A round-the-clock concierge service.

These are some of the perks House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) has arranged for his colleagues at the GOP convention in Philadelphia later this month. Sources said the services are expected to cost nearly $ 1 million, and will be paid for by political committees tied to DeLay and his top deputy--but which unlike other committees do not disclose their donors.

The story later makes clear that these amenities were jointly sponsored by DeLay and Blunt, and that Ellis was in charge of all of these activities, and both PACS.

Ellis is quoted further in the same story saying:

"We comply with state law [in states] where we're active in," Ellis said, adding that none of them require the committees to report their contributors. Donors will receive tickets to events and "other sponsorship benefits" depending on the amount of money they give, Ellis said.

Subsequently, the ROYB Fund was forced to enter into a consent decree with the Missouri Ethics Commission (pdf of consent decree) for failing to comply with Missouri law by filing a statement of organization and required reports in a timely fashion.

According to a September 22, 2000 Washington Post story, Ellis also coordinated a massive thank you event in Las Vegas for those who contributed $50,000 or more to the DeLay/Blunt convention activities:

House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), legendary on Capitol Hill for his aggressive efforts to cultivate corporate interests, hit on a new way of rewarding his friends last weekend, flying more than 30 lobbyists to Las Vegas for a golf tournament and a round of partying.

The weekend, aimed at raising money for the whip's political action committee, was also described by DeLay aides as a reward to corporate donors who helped underwrite his activities at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia this summer. DeLay raised roughly $ 1 million from corporations to help pay for chauffeur service for GOP lawmakers, a Blues Traveler rock concert and other activities.

From the same WP story:

United Parcel Service provided a chartered flight between Washington and Las Vegas for between 50 and 60 people--including lobbyists, top aides and political supporters--at DeLay's request, according to a company spokesman. DeLay flew separately on a Federal Express corporate jet. Lobbyists with the National Association of Manufacturers, the D.C. law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, and the National Association of Convenience Stores were among those present for the weekend.

According to the story, Blunt also attended the thank you event in Las Vegas.  The thank you event in Las Vegas was also the scene of a now infamous episode involving DeLay's daughter.

The weekend included a late-night party Saturday in DeLay's suite at the Rio Hotel and Casino, which featured a living room, bar and hot tub on the balcony. DeLay was not present, aides said; the event was hosted by his daughter, Dani Ferro, the campaign manager for DeLay's reelection campaign. After the party, Ferro told associates that a lobbyist poured champagne on her while she was in the hot tub.

At least one group that participated explicitly stated that they wanted credit with both DeLay and Blunt for their donations to the convention package:

Lindsay Hutter, spokeswoman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, said her group's director of political affairs, Dan Mulvaney, attended the event in recognition of the $ 50,000 contribution the association made to the convention package of DeLay and Chief Deputy Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

Ellis' Role Continued Through At Least 2001

As late as December 2001, Roll Call still cited Ellis as a consultant to both ARMPAC and ROYB.

As chief deputy whip of the House, Missouri Republican Roy Blunt has established a close working relationship with his boss, Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas. And their partnership extends to their respective leadership political action committees, making the duo a potent fundraising force and likely benefactor of dozens of GOP candidates in the 2002 election cycle.

DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority and Blunt's Rely On Your Beliefs Fund earlier this year co-hosted the first fundraising event for the GOP's Retain Our Majority Program, and Jim Ellis, ARMPAC's director, is a consultant for the ROYB Fund.

At the time of the story, DeLay and Blunt also jointly operated a website called, GOPToday.com.

Since Ellis' Indictment Blunt Has Defended Him Rhetorically and Financially

On September 22, 2004, the day after Ellis was indicted by a Texas grand jury, Roy Blunt rushed onto CNN's Inside Politics and defended Ellis.  Blunt dismissed the indictiments as "all politics" and then proceeded to attack the prosecutor in the case.

He then describes the DeLay fundraising tactics for which Ellis was indicted as "reasonable by any standard that I know of in terms of how political fund-raising is done in the country today."

On March 8, 2005, Roll Call reported that in January 2004, Roy Blunt, through the political committee that Ellis formerly ran, contributed $10,000 to Ellis' legal defense fund.

The contributions to Ellis' legal defense fund, are in addition to separate contributions Blunt has made directly to DeLay's legal defense fund.