A Texas grand jury has indicted Congressman Tom DeLay on two new felony charges.
The latest charges come after a conspiracy indictment last week that forced Mr DeLay to step aside as the second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives.
Tom DeLay has been indicted on two new felony charges
The new indictment accuses Mr DeLay of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a campaign finance scheme and greatly raises the legal stakes for the once-powerful Texan because it includes a potential punishment of life in prison if convicted.
The Travis County grand jury in Austin handed up the indictments shortly after Mr DeLay's lawyers sought to dismiss last week's charge, which carried a maximum sentence of two years, on a legal technicality.
The Austin American-Statesmansaid prosecutors sought the new charges because of concern the original one would be thrown out.
Mr DeLay denounced the latest action as an "abomination of justice."
The charges accuse Mr DeLay of conspiring with associates John Colyandro and Jim Ellis to launder $190,000 in corporate contributions to his Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee, or TRMPAC.
The money was to be passed through the Republican National Committee for distribution to candidates for the Texas Legislature in 2002, according to the indictment.
Texas law forbids the use of corporate money in political campaigns.
TRMPAC's efforts contributed to Republicans taking control of the Texas legislature for the first time since the post-Civil War reconstruction era and led to a controversial remapping of congressional districts that increased the number of Republicans from Texas in the House of Representatives.
Mr DeLay, who represents a district in the Houston area, had been House majority leader from 2002 until last week's indictment. Due to House Republican rules, he quit the leadership post, but he has kept his congressional seat.