Washington - The federal probe into corruption related to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff could be inching closer to former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay of Sugar Land as investigators focus on a former DeLay chief of staff who later employed the Republican leader's wife.
DeLay has not been charged with any crime in the Abramoff case. And his lawyer, Richard Cullen, said federal investigators have given DeLay no indication that he is a target of the ongoing grand jury probe, such as subpoenaing documents.
But prosecutors could decide within weeks whether to bring charges against former DeLay staff chief Edwin Buckham, according to sources close to the investigation who spoke on the condition that they not be identified. The decision should give a clear signal on whether DeLay remains in legal jeopardy, the sources said.
In recent days federal prosecutors have served notice that their sprawling Abramoff case has remained very much alive.
On Tuesday a former aide to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, pleaded guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from Abramoff - including a golf junket to Scotland - in exchange for giving the lobbyist illegal help. Mark Zachares accepted more than $30,000 in sports tickets from Abramoff, including $10,000 through a nonprofit foundation Abramoff controlled. More on the story.
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