Posted on 09/28/2005 10:52:59 AM PDT by kellynla
A Travis County grand jury today indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on one count of criminal conspiracy, prompting the Sugar Land Republican to give up his leadership post in Congress.
"I have notified (House Speaker Dennis Hastert) that I will temporarily step aside from my position as majority leader pursuant to rules of the House Republican Conference and the actions of the Travis County District Attorney today," DeLay said in a statement.
The charge, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years incarceration, stems from his role with his political committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, a now-defunct organization that already had been indicted on charges of illegally using corporate money during the 2002 legislative elections.
The grand jury, however, took no action against Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, Texas Association of Business President Bill Hammond or state Reps. Dianne Delisi and Beverly Woolley, both of whom sit on the political committee's board, for their roles in the election.
The grand jury's term ended today.
Delay's defense team will hold a news conference in Austin later this afternoon. The team includes defense attorneys Bill White and Steve Brittain of Austin and Dick DeGuerin of Houston.
"It's a skunky indictment. It stinks to high heaven," White said.
DeLay and his associates insisted the corporate money was legally spent on committee overhead or issue advertising and not campaign-related activity.
An indictment does not force DeLay to resign as a member of Congress, but the GOP's rules demand that he resign his post as majority leader as he fights the charges. Congressional Republicans earlier tried to drop that requirement, citing Earle's investigation as a political vendetta, but they ultimately maintained the rule after withering criticism.
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
Sad day. I hope he's cleared, but don't know the facts.
....aren't they jumping the guy a little bit on DeLay who's already said there is nothing to these allegations.....
....aren't they jumping the gun a little bit on DeLay who's already said there is nothing to these allegations.....
Indicted on the grand jury's last day?
“Dollars for Dismissals” - Ronnie Earle dropped charges in exchange for cash to pet cause.
National Review ^ | June 20, 2005 | Byron York
http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/york/york200506200910.asp
Well I've always said, "if" is the biggest word in the dictionary.
We'll just have to wait and see...
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
"Oh goody, another "honest" politician leading us. These people never learn. /sarcasm still on."
Don't you know a Republican politician can't be a crook? ;)
We'll see how it goes but personally I see this as poetic justice for Delay's recent statement that all the fat has been cut from the budget, etc. One of the most politically stupid and insulting statements I've seen in a while.
On the other hand, maybe this shows he's got an insanity defense...
IMHO it's pure vendetta because Tom DeLay has been so effective!
DeLay has issued the following statement:
These charges have no basis in the facts or the law. This is just another example of Ronnie Earle misusing his office for partisan vendettas. Despite the clearly political agenda of this prosecutor, Congressman DeLay has cooperated with officials throughout the entire process. Even in the last two weeks, Ronnie Earle himself had acknowledged publicly that Mr. DeLay was not a target of his investigation. However, as with many of Ronnie Earle's previous partisan investigations, Ronnie Earle refused to let the facts or the law get in the way of his partisan desire to indict a political foe.
This purely political investigation has been marked by illegal grand jury leaks, a fundraising speech by Ronnie Earle for Texas Democrats that inappropriately focused on the investigation, misuse of his office for partisan purposes, and extortion of money for Earle's pet projects from corporations in exchange for dismissing indictments he brought against them. Ronnie Earle's previous misuse of his office has resulted in failed prosecutions and we trust his partisan grandstanding will strike out again, as it should.
Ronnie Earle's 1994 indictment against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was quickly dismissed and his charges in the 1980s against former Attorney General Jim Mattox-another political foe of Earle-fell apart at trial.
We regret the people of Texas will once again have their taxpayer dollars wasted on Ronnie Earle's pursuit of headlines and political paybacks. Ronnie Earle began this investigation in 2002, after the Democrat Party lost the Texas state legislature to Republicans. For three years and through numerous grand juries, Ronnie Earle has tried to manufacture charges against Republicans involved in winning those elections using arcane statutes never before utilized in a case in the state. This indictment is nothing more than prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat.
A blind man could have seen this coming. A totally political attack by a crooked RAT, and the MSM will love it. DeLay will be totally cleared, but the MSM will barely mention that part.
So the bastards can take down any legitimate congressional leader just by hitting them with bs charges?
Sounds like a load of horse**** to me.
Excuse me, Ronnie Earle has been after Delay for years.
He's a no account Texas DA.
Kindly wait until you hear the facts.
As much as this seems to smell, it may be a good thing in the long run. Hopefully the MSM will run with it for a long time and along with Katrina it will keep the spotlight off the next supreme court nomination - which is REALLY where the liberal power lies. I would love the irony of a frivilous lawsuit helping to create a conservative court.
Boy... the line between those two activities is as vague as the meaning of the word "is".
Another DNC funded witch hunt.
To be brutally honest with you, I don't give a rat's rear hind quarters what party you are in or for, but if you break the law, and jail is warranted, then you go to jail. No one is ABOVE THE LAW. No matter HOW IMPORTANT they may think they are, or how big their britches are, guilty, go to jail! That simple. And I don't care what party they are in.
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As a former Texan (please Texans help me out here), I know that Ronnie Earle, the dim DA in liberal Travis County - been there for 18-20 years I believe - has traditionally used his office to file spurious charges against pub pols - mostly they end up amounting to nothing. Just fishing, trying to make trouble etc.
As the DA of the county that contains the state capital, Earle has way too much power and he abuses it.
Me too.
In this case, we probably shouldn't take any chances, so let's just string him up and then we'll wait and see if he really did it....
/sarc?
Hopefully this will be trial by jury,not trial by msm.
If he is guilty, he should do the time. If he is innocent, the media should lay off.
That's not brutally honest - just sensible. I don't think anyone would argue with your statement.
I meant RA. Apologies.
If he's guilty, go to jail. If the person who indicted had no legitimate, credible evidence, he should be held to answer and face charges.
...let the chips fall where they may and we'll learn the truth. I suspect this is going to be a Raymond "Can You Tell Me Where to Pick Up My Reputation" Donovan witch hunt by a RAT prosecutor...I've always wondered how RATs escape the political process?
Like DeLay said about Kay Bailey Hutchison, the charges may be dropped...
After all, you can "indict" a ham sandwich! LOL
Appears the TX Chicken RATS been waiting for this since 2001 when they ran for cover because they didn't want a quorum in the state legislature to plan redistricting, and they blamed their problems on DeLay then.
Payback is painful. DeLay almost singlehandedly locked in the Republican majority in Congess by his redistricting effort in Texas. This is sour grapes for the Dems. More chicken-sh*tted stuff rather competing on the issues.
DeLay is a strongwilled, go for the jugular Republican not a weak-kneed appologetic Republican. That makes him a target.
Drier is a better face for the Republicans anyway. He'll win more votes.
"Hillary and her associates insisted the corporate money was legally spent on committee overhead or issue advertising and not campaign-related activity."
who here would say it was anything but legal parsing of words and distortion?
Why don't you wait until the trial before you throw him to the wolves. It's incredibly easy to get a Grand Jury indictment. Look at Earle's success (none) in these partisan witch hunts and then tell me you believe DeLay will be convicted. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts he'll be acquitted. Meantime the MSM will have a field day with this.
Here is to Danny Rostenkowski, Jimmy Traficant and Congressman G.Studds of Cape Cod.
Your point is well-taken, but I hold to a classical definition of Law formulated by Thomas Aquinas: "an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by him who has the care of the community."
Only in as much as a law truly reflects the common good and is promulgated by a just authority is it truly a law, that is, morally binding. Martin Luther King, Jr quoted this definition of law. Just because it is a law on the books does not mean that it is just. Hence, simply because it is on the books does not mean that it should be obeyed. Only in as much as a human law comports with natural law, it is just.
Now, I do not know the nature of this law. I tend to dislike campaign finance law all-together, unless it simply restricts money coming in from out of the state in the case of state elections.
My main point is to clarify that a law that genuinely promotes the common good is morally obliging whereas one that does not promote the common good is not morally obliging and is only called a law because it resembles law superficially.
I'm more confident since he stepped down.
He doesn't appear to be hiding, and he isn't putting himself before the party.
Unlike numerous other politicians time won't allow me to name...
Oh yes, David Drier is a great conservative...
Sheesh, do I need to say ((sarcasm))??
It is my understanding that Grand Juries are presented only with the evidence that would support indictment or that the evidence leans disproportianately in that direction. Also isn't it the judge who decides what evidence shall be presented? Someone correct me if I am wrong. But isn't the grand jury's proceedings not subject to the same rules of discovery that an actual trial would be?
I would be very cautious in concluding that this indictment is any proof of wrong doing.
Having served in a Texas DA's office for over ten years, I will let you in on a little secret. The DA can get anyone indicted he wants. He is the presenter of the facts, and makes recommendations to the grand jury.
Think so? Wait until the Dims really start throwing out the rumors about Dreier being gay, and everyone here and in the MSM who is braying in triumph over DeLay's indictment starts hounding Dreier and calling him a "queer".
The DA is Ronnie Earl a Democrat political hack. He went after Kay Bailey-Hutchinson a few years back. the process played out over about 10 months, cost millions of dollars and the jury came back with not guilty in about 20 minutes.
This is a pure political ploy to neutralize Delay for the mid-term elections. Ronnie Earl couldn't get a conviction if his life depended on it. Interestingly his job never does.
Since you have some inside info, what kind of prosecution record do they have down there?
So basically he's their Larry Klayman.
Or should I say what is their rate of conviction?
These charges have no basis in the facts or the law. This is just another example of Ronnie Earle misusing his office for partisan vendettas. Despite the clearly political agenda of this prosecutor, Congressman DeLay has cooperated with officials throughout the entire process. Even in the last two weeks, Ronnie Earle himself had acknowledged publicly that Mr. DeLay was not a target of his investigation. However, as with many of Ronnie Earle's previous partisan investigations, Ronnie Earle refused to let the facts or the law get in the way of his partisan desire to indict a political foe.
This purely political investigation has been marked by illegal grand jury leaks, a fundraising speech by Ronnie Earle for Texas Democrats that inappropriately focused on the investigation, misuse of his office for partisan purposes, and extortion of money for Earle's pet projects from corporations in exchange for dismissing indictments he brought against them. Ronnie Earle's previous misuse of his office has resulted in failed prosecutions and we trust his partisan grandstanding will strike out again, as it should.
Ronnie Earle's 1994 indictment against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was quickly dismissed and his charges in the 1980s against former Attorney General Jim Mattox-another political foe of Earle-fell apart at trial.
We regret the people of Texas will once again have their taxpayer dollars wasted on Ronnie Earle's pursuit of headlines and political paybacks. Ronnie Earle began this investigation in 2002, after the Democrat Party lost the Texas state legislature to Republicans. For three years and through numerous grand juries, Ronnie Earle has tried to manufacture charges against Republicans involved in winning those elections using arcane statutes never before utilized in a case in the state. This indictment is nothing more than prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat.
They can look at any fact, or non fact without reguard to how it was gained.
A member of the DA's office is present to guide and present facts.
The Grand Jury can ask the member of the DA's office to leave, and then they are refered to as a runaway Grand Jury.
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