One of DeLay’s indictments has been dismissed:
senior district judge today dismissed one felony indictment but upheld another against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, dashing DeLay’s hopes for a speedy resolution to his case.
A quick ruling in DeLay’s favor from senior state District Judge Pat Priest throwing the case out of court was crucial to the Sugar Land Republican’s efforts to regain his post as U.S. House majority leader. He was forced to step down when he was indicted in September.
Priest dismissed charges of conspiracy to violate the state election code but upheld a money laundering indictment against DeLay and two of his associates: Jim Ellis and John Colyandro. They were charged in connection with spending corporate money in the 2002 legislative races.
DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden portrayed the ruling as a major legal victory over Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle.
“The court’s decision to dismiss a portion of Ronnie Earle’s manufactured and flawed case against Mr. DeLay underscores just how baseless and politically motivated the charges were,” Madden said.
Make of it what you will. I am sure the Powerline will explain to us that this means DeLay is completely innocent of everything while ThinkProgress will explain that this is a sign how strong the other indictment is against DeLay. The truth, as always, is somewhere in between.
At any rate, this looks like the end of DeLay as Majority Leader, as elections will be held in January for new leadership.
Paul Wartenberg
The truth is this case isn’t the biggest problem DeLay has. One word: Abramoff.
Mark-NC
Absolutely true!!
Paul L.
I guess it is a good thing Ronnie Earle got that second indictment from a newly impaneled grand jury after he failed to get it from other grand jury.
Stormy70
Ronnie Earle has always had a few issues with his indictments.
DougJ
Money laundering, bribery, connections to gangland style executions — why are the Democrats trying to criminalize politics?
Jon H
“Money laundering, bribery, connections to gangland style executions—why are the Democrats trying to criminalize politics?”
It’s all just good old Washington-style hardball. If the Dems can’t take the heat of the occasional mob hit, they need to get out of the kitchen.
ppGaz
Works for me.
What I don’t understand, and maybe you, DougJ, can help with this, is why politicians have to launder their own money? Don’t they have people to do this for them?
DougJ
I’m still waiting for the George Will piece where he quotes Oliver Wendell Holmes on the ubiquity of gangland style executions in American politics.
DougJ
It’s part of being in touch with common man. Limousine liberals have other people launder their money for them. Red state cowboys do it themselves.
That’s how you can tell Abramoff wasn’t a real red state American. A *real* Main Street American would have shot Gus Boulis himself instead of wussing out and hiring a bunch of mafiosa to do it. You can bet that when someone tries to screw Tom DeLay out of a bunch of casino cruise ship money, the Hammer loads up and does the sucker himself.
DougJ
But you can bet that if DeLay could have gotten his money laundered in some Marianis Island sweatshop for 30 cents an hour, he might have gone that route instead.
ppGaz
Indeed.
So, there’s Tom, in his combination exterminator-campaign truck, with the sprayer, and the big speakers on the top ….. and he’s telling his Sugarland pals down there, yep, we’re runnin a real clean campaign down here. Our money is all laundered before we even touch it.
Ancient Purple
Of course, if a jury finds DeLay guilty, I am sure you will say the jury was tampered with or stacked against DeLay.
skip
“this looks like the end of DeLay as Majority Leader”
Be still my heart.
DougJ
Are the Republicans in Congress going to walk around with purple fingers after their elections in January? Just wondering.
Steve S
I think she’ll explain how she has no time to comment, as the last episode of Survivor is on.
Steve S
It’s interesting how the indictment was thrown out on a technicality. I guess that proves his innocence. :-)
Baron Elmo
I was actually hoping that BOTH indictments would be dropped, just to savor the dismay of DeLay and the GOP when newer, nastier indictments get filed. DeLay is dirty as can be, and there’s muck aplenty to be flung Hammerward.
Schadenfreude? Perish the thought…
Otto Man
The truth is the charge got tossed out on a technicality. The judge ruled that although what DeLay was charged with is illegal now, it wasn’t illegal then. Makes sense to me.
As far as DeLay not getting his leadership position back, he’s got bigger things to worry about. According to the latest Gallup poll of people in his district (TX-22), things aren’t looking good for the Bugman:
Not even Sugar Land loves him. That’s gotta hurt.
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Possible headline: SUGARLAND SOURS ON TOM
JWeidner
Same goes for the Blue State Republicans…see Duke “I’m open for business” Cunningham…
rachel
But Tom… How can we miss you if you won’t go away?
Stormy70
I think Delay is dirty, as long time posters should remember, and I was fine with him losing his leadership position. It still does not change the fact that Ronnie Earle is a laughing stock in Texas, with good reason. This indictment was a joke, and once the prosecution realized that it would probably thrown out, they indicted him on new charges with a three hour old grand jury. It looks a little fishy.
Hmmm. Survivor is on Thursday nights. I know that you guys lives must revolve around my comments, since you miss me so much when my real life intrudes. I will not be giving up any good TV or movie time to discuss politics with anyone. Face it, none of you are as pretty as the CSI guys.
Al Maviva
>>>>The truth is the charge got tossed out on a technicality. The judge ruled that although what DeLay was charged with is illegal now, it wasn’t illegal then
I’m not sure that the substantive constitutional prohibition on retroactivity of criminal laws can fairly be called a “technicality,” unless other substantive rights in the constitution and express limits on lawmaking power are also technicalities.
“No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.” US Const, Sec. 9.
In other words, the state can’t pass a law, and then prosecute you for violation of that law at a time when the acts in question were legal. The purpose of this prohibition is to prevent ex post facto, politically motivated prosecution of individuals deemed to be enemies, which was a more or less common practice in other countries whose legal systems were under consideration at the time of the framing. Calling the dismissal of charges on such grounds a technicality reminds me of the cracker barrel anti-crime populism of the Dirty Harry movies – “Punk got his case dismissed on a technicality.” “Well Harry, you shouldn’t have shot him during interrogation.” I don’t know if that particular line came up but one sort of like it did, and even to my reactionary right wing ass it sort of reeked.
neil
I’m surprised that there’s not more of an effort to spin ‘judge refused to throw out felony money laundering charge’ as a victory, but I guess that even Tom DeLay has reached a limit of sorts.
neil
Actually, I guess that all of DeLay’s hopes were pinned on the second charges being thrown out – circumstancially they seemed more suspect, although I think DeLay’s lawyer gamed him into them. (Possibly not such a smart move.) But now that they’ve been heard and not dismissed, the ‘partisan prosecutor throwing together flimsy charges’ line has lost pretty much all its oomph.
Now, I forget — is the money-laundering charge the one that Earle got on the basis of DeLay’s own statements? I think it is.
neil
Stormy70, how does that work? The case Earle built over months was “a joke”, so he spent 3 hours with a grand jury and got a new “fishy” indictment which is nonetheless stronger?
You just can’t win, I guess.
Lines
Whether or not Delay is found guilty by the stacked jury, his current political career is over. I’m sure he’ll be all for lobbying on behalf of all the rest of the bugmen around America, though. Can you do that from prison, though?
Steve S
Then he must fit right in.
The whole state of Texas is a laughing stock, with good reason.
Sine.Qua.Non
Stormy, Ronnie Earle is NOT a laughing stock in Texas. What the hell are you mumbling about?
Stormy70
Don’t you live in Moscow on the Guadalupe? Everyone else remembers him going after Kay Bailey Hutchinson and getting laughed out of court. The Judge dismissed the charge Ronnie worked on for how many years because it was legal to do at the time. You don’t find it funny? What kind of prosecutor indicts on a law that does not exist at the time of the crime? Then he had to scramble around and bring new charges with a new grand jury. It was in the Austin American Statesman for pete’s sake! It must of killed them to report it, knowing how much they hate Delay. Earle sucks.
DougJ
Stormy, you’re completely wrong about Earle, who has an excellent conviction record (though you’re right that the Kay Bailey fiasco was an embarrassment), but I like the expression “Moscow on the Guadalupe”.
I wonder, though, if now that Russia is now longer communist, if “Havana on the Guadalupe” might be more appropriate.
rayabacus
I sincerely hope that Delay does not reclaim his majority leader position. It is not a given that there will be new elections in January. 50 reps must call for elections (petition the leadership) then there will be a vote on whether to hold elections….or not. Delay may still weild enough hammer to defeat a vote for elections. Interesting, these inside political firefights.