The heat is being turned on around Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX) as attorneys in a civil trial in Austin have unearthed a number of documents that elucidate the ties between the House Majority Leader and his Political Action Committee, which allegedly funneled corporate donations to Texas House races, a felony in the state. The New York Times' Philip Shenon has the coverage.

Documents subpoenaed from an indicted fund-raiser for Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, suggest that Mr. DeLay was more actively involved than previously known in gathering corporate donations for a political committee that is the focus of a grand-jury investigation in Texas, his home state.

The documents, which were entered into evidence last week in a related civil trial in Austin, the state capital, suggest that Mr. DeLay personally forwarded at least one large corporate check to the committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, and that he was in direct contact with lobbyists for some of the nation's largest companies on the committee's behalf.

In an August 2002 document subpoenaed from the files of the indicted fund-raiser, Warren M. RoBold, Mr. RoBold asked for a list of 10 major donors to the committee, saying that "I would then decide from response who Tom DeLay" and others should call to help the committee in seeking a "large contribution."

Another document is a printout of a July 2002 e-mail message to Mr. RoBold from a political ally of Mr. Delay, requesting a list of corporate lobbyists who would attend a fund-raising event for the committee, adding that "DeLay will want to see a list of attendees" and that the list should be available "on the ground in Austin for T.D. upon his arrival."

Austin District Attorney Ronnie Earle has yet to indicate whether or not he will pursue an indictment of the Congressman, but should a grand jury find a case against DeLay, he will be stripped of his leadership position and the Republican Party as a whole might be in for a tough ride in 2006.