December 13, 2005
Another delay for DeLay

Travis County DA Ronnie Earle has asked for a stay of the January trial date for Tom DeLay and the TRMPAC Triplets so he can appeal Judge Pat Priest's dismissal of one of the indictments against DeLay.


DeLay's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, said he will oppose the motion to stay. DeGuerin last week asked Senior District Judge Pat Priest to separate the money-laundering charge and schedule a trial in January.

Priest said in an e-mail to reporters Monday night that he will hear the state's motion to stay and DeLay's motion to sever the money-laundering charge on Dec. 27.

Priest on Dec. 5 threw out charges accusing DeLay and two associates of conspiring to violate the state election code, but upheld charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The case against DeLay, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis stems from an alleged scheme to get around the state election code's ban on corporate financing of candidates.

The judge found the state conspiracy law did not apply to the election code until a year after the 2002 elections when the alleged violations occurred.

"We do not believe that it was lawful for persons to conspire to violate the election laws of Texas. This is an important aspect of the state's case and we believe the appeal could have some value as precedent," Earle wrote in a letter to Priest.

The 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin will consider the appeal, which DeLay's lawyer said could take months.


DeGuerin and DeLay's spokespeople are stamping their feet and crying that Earle's appeal is "frivolous". It's interesting how they don't seem to like it when the other side uses all the arrows in its quiver, given how much paper they've moved so far in this case. If the appeal goes through, then it won't matter that Speaker Dennis Hastert plans to keep the House in recess through January, in order to forestall leadership elections until DeLay's case is resolved. Sorry, Tom.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on December 13, 2005 to Scandalized! | TrackBack
Comments

I'm not sure. There's a part of me that thinks that the longer the House is in recess, the better it is for the American people. The old Texas saying "No one's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session" was a favorite of my father's from his time as an aide to the rep from Jacksonville.

I'm all in favor of 2 days every 140 years. :)

What if the midterms turn the house? Can Hastert still keep it in recess?

Posted by: Michael on December 13, 2005 11:30 AM

I hope it's obvious to everybody: The problem isn't that Ronnie Earle is criminalizing politics. The problem is that Tom DeLay is politicizing crime.

Posted by: Jim D on December 13, 2005 11:47 AM

Here! Here! Jim D

Posted by: Prove Our Democracy with Paper Ballots on December 13, 2005 10:53 PM

Dear Ronnie Earle,

Thank you so much. Please check with DeLay about Texas' own non-evidentiary voting machines for our Democracy's sake.

Thank you,
Many Blue, Yellow and Green Dogs

and now from: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/13/223524/30

AP via YahooNews:
DeLay Prosecutor Wants Cunningham Contractor Docs
by OldYellerDog
Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 09:35:24 PM CST

The Headline:
Prosecutor Issues Subpoenas in DeLay Case

The lede:

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A Texas prosecutor has issued subpoenas for bank records and other information of a defense contractor involved in the bribery case of a California congressman as part of the investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued subpoenas late Monday afternoon for California businessmen Brent Wilkes and Max Gelwix, records of Perfect Wave Technologies LLC, Wilkes Corp. and ADCS Inc. in connection with a contribution to a fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to DeLay's indictment on money laundering charges.

Posted by: Prove Our Democracy with Paper Ballots on December 13, 2005 11:46 PM