Americans for a Republican Majority explained

Americans for a Republican Majority (also ARMPAC) was a political action committee formed by former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and directed by Karl Gallant. On July 7, 2006 ARMPAC reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay a fine of $115,000 for various violations and to shut down operations.^[1] It filed its termination papers on April 24, 2007.^[2]

History

Originally formed by Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Jim Ellis and several of close associates, ARMPAC was created with the goal of electing a Republican majority in the United States Congress for the 2000 elections. The millions of dollars ARMPAC raised were responsible for the success of many Republican candidates, officeholders, and PACs nationwide.^[3]

An FEC audit of ARMPAC's activities during the 2002 campaign cycle (January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2002) found failures to report debts, contributions, and assets, as well as a failure to properly separate federal and non-federal spending. On 28 July 2005, the FEC approved enforcement for the matter after accepting the adut.^[4] Dani DeLay Ferro, DeLay's daughter and spokeswoman, said the fine and shutdown of ARMPAC were voluntary. In a statement, she said that the audit "concerns highly technical FEC reporting rules, which due to their complexity, the commission has since reformed and simplified."^{[1] [5]}

ARMPAC provided the blueprint for Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), a state-level PAC founded in Austin by Ellis and DeLay in 2001.^[3]

Payments to relatives

From 2001 to January 31, 2006, ARMPAC paid Christine DeLay (DeLay's wife); Dani DeLay Ferro, and Ferro's Texas firm a total of $350,304 in political consulting fees and expenses.^[6]

Officers and notable members

Name	Position	Ref	Notes
Edwin Buckham	Co-Founder	^[7] ^[8]
James W. Ellis	Executive Director	^[9]
Red Cavaney			Former CEO of the American Petroleum Institute^[10]
John Colyandro			Later ran Texans for a Republican Majority^[11]
Tom DeLay	Founder
Karl Gallant	Director		Also helped run Republican Majority Issues Committee^[12]
Don McGahn	Attorney	^[13]	Tom DeLay's former attorney.^[14] Later was appointed White House Counsel under President Donald Trump.^[15]
Warren Robold	Fundraiser	^[16]
Corwin Teltschik	Treasurer	^[17]

See also

• Texans for a Republican Majority
• Cleta Mitchell

External links

• Audit Shows Misreporting by DeLay PAC Fox News, August 11, 2005.
• FEC Faults Accounting at DeLay's PAC Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post, August 12, 2005
• The Abramoff affair: Corruption scandal threatens Republican control of US Congress By Patrick Martin WSWS November 29, 2005
• DeLay Fails to get case tossed out R.G. Rattcliffe, The Houston Chronicle, December 6, 2005
• Earle probes DeLay tie to California donor Michael Hedges, The Houston Chronicle, December 14, 2005
• Legislators cut Abramoff connections - Missouri Republicans who accepted donations are giving the money away Ashley Henry, Missourian News, January 5, 2006
• Conciliation Agreement between FEC and ARMPAC for violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act, July 19, 2006 (pdf file)

Notes and References

1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072000843.html PAC Tied to DeLay Is Fined, Shutting Down
2. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/05/delays_pac_closes_shop.html DeLay's PAC closes shop
3. Book: Bickerstaff, Steve. Lines in the Sand: congressional redistricting in Texas and the downfall of Tom DeLay. limited. University of Texas Press. 2007. 978-0-292-71474-8. 47.
4. News: ARMPAC Penalized $115,000 for Improper Financial Reporting . 10 May 2019 . FEC.gov . . July 20, 2006 . Washington, DC . en.
5. News: Shenon . Philip . DeLay PAC Draws a Fine and Agrees to Shut Down . 10 May 2019 . The New York Times . 21 July 2006.
6. News: Retirement Account of DeLay's Wife Traced . Washingtonpost.com . June 7, 2006. 2010-06-20 . R. Jeffrey . Smith.
7. News: Six Degrees Of Jack Abramoff. January 19, 2007. NPR. 9 May 2019.
8. Web site: The Friends of Tom DeLay. 17 April 2006.
9. Web site: The Ellis Memos. Chronicle. Austin. austinchronicle.com. The Austin Chronicle. October 31, 2018.
10. Web site: Forbes profile. 2019-05-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20120209204909/http://people.forbes.com/profile/red-cavaney/14033. 2012-02-09. dead.
11. Book: Bickerstaff, Steve . Lines in the Sand: Congressional Redistricting in Texas and the Downfall of Tom DeLay . limited . University of Texas Press . 2007-02-01 . 978-0-292-71474-8 . 49.
12. http://www.brook.edu/GS/CF/headlines/DeLay.PDF Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Lawsuit
13. News: Auditors Find Violations by DeLay's PAC. Leonhardt. David. 12 August 2005. The New York Times. 10 May 2019. en. Donald F. McGahn II, a lawyer for Armpac, said the violations were honest mistakes and largely technicalities. The committee has since repaid the $203,000 in question, Mr. McGahn said, by transferring it from a federal-election account to an inactive soft-money account..
14. http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/13549421.htm
15. News: Samuels . Brett . . McGahn departs as White House counsel . October 17, 2018 . October 17, 2018 .
16. Web site: TPJ.org. TPJ.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20080609224708/http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=804&pubid=569. 2008-06-09. dead. 2010-06-20.
17. Web site: Federal Election Commission. Eqs.sdrdc.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20110518093714/http://eqs.sdrdc.com/eqs/searcheqs?SUBMIT=summary&CURRSTATE=fec.mur.gui.Summary. 2011-05-18. dead. 2010-06-20.