Tom Delay Leaves the Dance Floor, Will He Finally Enter the Courtroom?

By: Sammy Rose Saltzman
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP)

Photo: Tom Delay dances on the season premier of "Dancing With the Stars."

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Now that Tom Delay has been forced to hang up his "Dancing" shoes, maybe he'll finally face the music in court.

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The former House Republican Whip, who until Tuesday was a contestant on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," pled not guilty to criminal violations of state campaign finance laws and money laundering in a Texas court in 2005, but the case has yet to be brought to trial.

Delay, 62, left the show after a doctor told him that he had stress fractures in both feet.. He was also informed that he must wear foot braces when off the dance floor.

Physicians and producers urged the former senator to withdraw from the dance-off. But he was determined to continue Monday, performing a sufficient samba with professional partner Cheryl Burke.

"What's a little pain when you can party?" he asked before performing.

But the pain proved too much Tuesday and DeLay said he couldn't continue on the hit reality show.

"If you can't practice, you make a fool of yourself out here," he said. "And I don't want to do that to Cheryl."

The former Texas congressman said his next dance would have been the Texas two-step. Show host Tom Bergeron invited DeLay to perform the dance on the season finale if his feet were up to it.

"That'd be wonderful," said DeLay, still wearing his red-and-white performance outfit adorned with a Republican elephant.

DeLay and Burke finished one point away from last place Monday, earning 15 points out of 30.

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