US: A Texas judge has thrown out a conspiracy charge against former Republican house leader Tom DeLay but has let stand a more serious charge of money laundering in an electoral finance case, writes Denis Staunton in Washington.
The decision is a blow to Mr DeLay's hopes of returning to the leadership position from which he stepped aside after he was indicted in September.
Some Republicans want to choose a permanent replacement as house leader in January and Mr DeLay's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, said it was important to clear up the case as quickly as possible.
"The longer he's out of his position, the less chance there is that he can regain it," he said. "Others are going to come in and take over."
Prosecutors claim that Mr DeLay and two associates tried to get around a Texas ban on the corporate funding of candidates in state elections.
Mr DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority raised about $600,000 (€509,000) in corporate donations during the 2002 state elections. In September 2002 the group donated $190,000 to the Republican National Committee, which within days sent $190,000 it claimed to have raised from individuals to seven Republican candidates.
Republicans gained control of the Texas house in the 2002 elections, enabling Mr DeLay to push through a congressional redistricting plan that helped Republicans win a 21-11 majority of the state's congressional seats in 2004.
Senior district judge Pat Priest dismissed charges accusing Mr DeLay of conspiring to violate the state election code, but he upheld charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Mr DeLay has one more chance to get the charges dismissed, when the judge hears a misconduct motion claiming that the prosecutor manipulated a grand jury to secure the indictments.
The Texas case is one of a number of scandals surrounding Republicans in Congress, some of whom are accused of accepting bribes from conservative lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
California Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigned last week after pleading guilty to accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes from a defence contractor.
Among the bribes Mr Cunningham accepted were a $200,000 down-payment on an apartment in Arlington, Virginia, and the payment of the capital gains tax on the sale of his California home.