Hilleary, DeLay Connection Revealed
Indicted former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s ties to former congressmen Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant run deeper than most Tennesseans realized. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Washington lobbyist Susan Hirschmann — one of Hilleary’s top political advisors — served as DeLay’s chief of staff after working in Hilleary’s congressional office. Meanwhile, former Bryant legislative director Andrew Maloney later served in the same role with DeLay. Hilleary and Bryant, who have both received political contributions funneled by DeLay, now are pitted against each other in a bruising GOP Senate primary.
Hilleary campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe acknowledged that “obviously, Ed Bryant, Van Hilleary and Tom DeLay have a relationship,” but downplayed the connections. Critics said it’s tough to separate the personalities — particularly in the case of Hilleary, Hirschmann and DeLay. Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, said Hirschmann is a known “go-between” for DeLay and controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a Hilleary supporter who represented American Indian tribes and casinos. Hirschmann has given more than $4,000 to Hilleary’s Senate campaign and helped arrange more than $10,000 in contributions by Abramoff’s gaming clients to Hilleary’s failed 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke characterized the personal pipeline between DeLay and Hilleary as “insidious.”
For more information, read the Times Free Press report and check out Drop the Hammer, a project of the American Progress Action Fund.
