Posted on 09/30/2005 3:09:52 PM PDT by spycatcher
A new film featuring Travis County, Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle as he pursued the investigation that led to the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay portrays Earle less as a partisan figure than as a messianic leader on a mission to rid American politics of the "evil" influence of money.
A copy of the still-unfinished film, entitled The Big Buy, was obtained by National Review Online Friday.
On several occasions in the film, Earle engages in monologues on what he believes is the sinister effect of money in politics. "The root of the evil of the corporate and large-monied interest domination of politics is money," Earle says as he takes the filmmakers on a nighttime drive around Austin. "This is in the Bible. This isn't rocket science. The root of all evil truly is money, especially in politics. People talk about how money is the mother's milk of politics. Well, it's the devil's brew. And what we've got to do, we've got to turn off the tap."
In another scene, Earle describes how he deals with offenders in cases like the campaign-finance investigation. "It's important that we forgive those who come to us in a spirit of contrition and the desire for forgiveness. That's important. But if they don't, then God help them." The film then dissolves to a picture of DeLay.
In yet another scene, Earle describes corporate political contributions, which are illegal in Texas (although state law allows corporations to fund the administrative activities of political action committees) as a problem that is "every bit as insidious as terrorism."
The film also features footage that illustrates the extraordinary access to the DeLay investigation that Earle granted filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck. The Big Buy contains footage of the empty Travis County grand-jury room, as well as video of grand-jury staffers and some members of the grand jury entering the room (the face of one grand juror was obscured by the filmmakers). The film also contains footage of the original indictments of DeLay's associates, as well as those of several corporations, being sorted and copied, apparently before they were made public, on September 21, 2004, the day the indictments were handed up. There is also footage of Earle meeting with his staff attorneys, reading the indictments before they were released. "It's like that moment right after the missiles are launched," Earle says of the scene, "when it's real quiet, but it's not going to be quiet for long."
In the picture, Earle explains that he believes he bears a profound responsibility to alert the American public to the dangers of big political contributions. "I feel great pressure to get the information to the public, to point, to set a tone and to point a direction, and to say which hill needs to be taken," he explains. "When a powerful politician [Earle was referring to DeLay] can demand $25,000 for face time for large monied interests, I mean, something's wrong. What happened to face time for John and Jane Citizen who are raising two kids and they've got two jobs a piece and the kids don't have insurance? What about face time for them and the problems they're facing? Those are the problems that the country is facing."
The film features commentary from a number of DeLay critics, including Lou Dubose, author of The Hammer: Tom DeLay: God, Money, and the Rise of the Republican Congress, columnist Molly Ivins, defeated political rival Martin Frost, Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice, and others. It also contains interviews with some Republican state lawmakers in Texas and attorneys for the defendants in the case (DeLay himself declined to cooperate with the filmmakers).
At one point in the picture, Rosemary Lemberg, an assistant district attorney in Earle's office, explains that Earle singlehandedly pushed forward the DeLay investigation over the objections of colleagues. "Ronnie was the only person in maybe a group of six or seven lawyers in a room who thought we ought to go ahead and investigate and look at those things," Lemberg says. "We got sued every time we turned around, we got taken to court over this, and Ronnie was the one who just kept pushing forward with it, and saying 'I'll put more resources on this, just keep hacking at it.'"
Though the film's tone is admiring, the filmmakers allow Earle's critics to suggest that, given the sometimes highly politicized nature of his opinions, he should perhaps work in some field other than law enforcement. "The problem that Ronnie has is that he sees something that he believes is wrong," says Roy Minton, an attorney for one of the organizations investigated by Earle. "If you ask him, when he says, 'They're doing this' and 'They're doing that,' you say, 'Alright, let's assume they're doing that, Ronnie, is that against the law?' He will say it's wrong. You say, 'Well, OK, let's assume that it's wrong. Where is it that it is against the law?'"
Did they show footage of the grand juries that refused to indict DeLay?
Somebody asked for a Bush administration reaction to the Earle-DeLay situation. I thought that the briefing guy should have said that, like any honest American, Bush was appalled when someone misued elected office for improper personal or political gain. Then when someone asked a follow-up question that assumed he was talking about DeLay, he could act confused for a second, then say, "Oh, no, I was talking about Earle." and go on to talk about the ethical standards of those on the left.
Bush is a wimp these days though. Look how he cut Bennett's legs out today too.
So Ronnie's a liberation theologist, eh? Reason enough for us to go Contra on him.
"Bush is a wimp these days though. Look how he cut Bennett's legs out today too."
I agree. What's wrong with him lately? He doesn't seem to be standing up for his supporters.
I know. I heard it.
I believe that grand juries have the power to indict anyone they want, not just the ones they're asked for by the DA. So in a case like this, they could not only refuse to indict DeLay, but hand down indictments of Earle himself for obstruction of justice, malicious prosecution, hell, fraud, for all I know.
Somebody do a pardoy trailer for this, quick!
Worse yet, people in the System are either friends or so intimidated that they protect the monster from being prosecuted for his/her illegal and unethical acts. These monsters are above the law. Count on it. I grant you, no one will ever go after Ronnie Earle.
How many grand juries did he go through before one would agree to what he wanted? Even his indictment isn't specific to grant Tom DeLay a clear picture of what exactly, he's being accused of. Earle did the same to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson and got his butt spanked in Court. However if his goal was to get DeLay tossed off the Majority Leader post, he succeeded.
He's such a dork. I think he's prosecuted ME before. In fact I'm pretty sure he has. He's was county attorney for a long time before he became district attorney, IIRC. He used to be this young looking dork. Now he has gray hair and Arlen Specterish lines at the bottom of his cheeks I guess, hard to describe, but you know exactly what I mean. He looks like an old dork now. Funny that all these names that were up and comers when I lived in Austin in the early 80s are coming out of the woodwork. Like Carole Keeton McClellan for another example. Answers to Strayhorn now.
Six, he went through six Grand Juries to get the indictment. This was the seventh.
Ronnie can't even quote the Bible correctly:
1 Timothy 6:10 - For the LOVE of money is the root of all evil
Ronnie Earle
Wrong on the Law, Wrong on the Bible!
"Ronnie can't even quote the Bible correctly"
I was wondering if anyone else noticed that.
Quite frankly, I've seen big money do a lot of wonderful things. The rich don't get the credit they deserve.
Since he thinks that money is the root of all evil, I am sure he hates the evil Soros, right? <sarc.
No grand jury will do something like that, even if they know they can (they usually don't, I didn't).
Did they show footage of Hillary overlooking that 600K+ expense from her fundraiser?
Bennett opened his big mouth and stuck both of his feet into it. IMO he deserves no cover from President Bush or anyone else. Let him talk his way out of his own brain-fart.
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