Prosecutor Earle Subpoenas DeLay's Phone Records

Associated Press ^ | Oct 13, 2005 - 5:06 PM EDT | Suzanne Gamboa

[flattorney]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A Texas prosecutor subpoenaed records for the home telephone of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and the phone of his political campaign Thursday. Also subpoenaed by prosecutor Ronnie Earle were records for two numbers for DeLay's daughter, Danielle DeLay Ferro.

DeLay is facing charges of money laundering and conspiracy in a Texas campaign finance case. The subpoenas list telephone numbers, but not whom they belong to. They ask for information about the calls and the numbers' subscribers, voice mail service, billing information, long distance calls made from or charged to the numbers and special features.

"The thing is no big deal," said Bill White, Austin attorney for DeLay. Earle's office declined comment on the subpoenas. He has said the investigation is continuing.

Earle is seeking the records and information from Sept. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2002, the time period when a political committee founded by DeLay, Texans for a Republican Majority, was raising money for the 2002 election cycle. White said Earle appeared to be trying to find out what kind of contact DeLay had with two associates, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro, who also are indicted in the case. "It seems to me he should have been doing it the last three years. Now is a little late to start checking on his evidence," White said.

This is not the first time a subpoena has been issued involving DeLay's daughter, a political consultant. She was subpoenaed in early 2004 to appear before a grand jury and bring records of work she did for TRMPAC. Calls to one number for Ferro seeking comment went to voice mail. A man who answered a second number for her declined comment.

Earle also subpoenaed records from a phone number for Ellis' daughter and for CAD Affiliates, a technology company in a town near Sugar Land, a Houston suburb that is DeLay's hometown. Jacqueline Ellis said she didn't know why her phone records would have been subpoenaed and the fact they had been "kind of freaks me out."

Ed Crowell, owner of CAD Affiliates, said DeLay's campaign office shared a building with him once but his company was not associated with DeLay. He said he was not a contributor and has heard from DeLay only when he gets recorded campaign calls at home. "I've never seen the man. I may have seen him in the grocery store," Crowell said.

DeLay is scheduled to appear Oct. 21 in Austin on the charges.

[flattorney]

* * UPDATE * *

Delay spokesman Kevin Madden called the subpoenas "both odd and desperate at the same time."

"This is a baseless investigation that is over three years old, and only now Ronnie Earle is issuing subpoenas? It's a ridiculous stunt to try and cover up the fact that Ronnie Earle's partisan investigation has turned into an embarrassment for him," Madden said in a statement.

DeLay attorney Bill White of Austin said there's "nothing much" to the subpoenas, calling them an effort by the prosecutor to "see if we can run down some calls that for some reason would make him (DeLay) look bad."

* * UPDATE * *

The subpoenas for telephone records — which go to the companies that have the records in custody — give the telephone numbers but no other identifying information.

Calls to the numbers found that one is for DeLay's congressional campaign office. Another's voice mail indicates it belongs to DeLay's daughter. A third was answered by a woman who said the listing is for a software distributorship in the same building in which DeLay has an office. In addition, the Associated Press reported, one of the numbers is for DeLay's home.

[flattorney]

UPDATE - Tom DeLay Criminal Indictments Pre-Trial Legal Documents:
(Left Click to Read/Right Click To DownLoad - PDF Files)

10.13 - Docs Pending: DA Earle Subpoenas: DeLay & Related Parties Phone Records, and DeLay Car Purchase
10.11 - Defendant's Subpoena Duces Tecum of Documentation and Records, et.al. of Ronnie Earle and any Member of the Travis County District Attorney's Staff relating to contact et. al. with the three GJ's, of which 2 Indicted DeLay (This is an expanded Subpoena from the previous courtesy request letter by D. DeGuerin)
10.11 – Defendant’s Petition For Disclosure of Information, Transcriptions and Recordings Made in Connection With Grand Jury Proceedings
10.11 – Defendant’s Fair Notice Letter to DA Earle, Subpoena of Earle and two of his prosecutors, Rosemary Lehmberg and Rick Reed
10.07 - Defendant's Motion to Quash (2nd) Indictment On The Basis of Prosecutorial Misconduct
10.04 - DA Earle Statement re: DeLay's 30 Day Statute of Limitations Waiver & Subsequent Withdraw
10.03 - 2nd Indictment Against Defendant, Felony Money Laundering
10.03 - Defendant's Motion to Quash (1st) Indictment For Failure To State An Offense Under Texas Law
09.28 - 1st Indictment Against Defendant, Conspiracy to Commit Felony Fraud

[jess35]

This has gone on far too long. Earle either needs to pony up actual evidence of criminal misconduct or be forced to shut his investigation down. I can't believe the Texas AG is allowing this witchhunt to continue.

[flattorney]

The Texas AG doesn't have the authority to shut Earle down. Another one of those Texas's legal/political peculiarities. The Texas Legislature has tried to pulled the power away from Earle's office, and get it under the AG, but has not been successful. Gov Perry's Admin/Texas Legis has been cutting the DA's office funding to squeeze them but......

The bottom line is, if lightweight Ronnie Earle thinks he can beat the Bush-I(not Bush-II)-Rove-DeLay Machine, let the clown take his best shots and come on. He'll get destroyed.

[flattorney]

* * * UPDATE * * *
Note: This is the first time Judge Perkins has been back on the bench since his vacation. On other matters, DeLay continues to aggressively raise legal funds this week, and speak at local business events in South-Central Texas. Tom is speaking in Midland, Texas today. (Fri, 10/14/05)
#######

Earle also is seeking phone records from Sept. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2002, the time period when DeLay's Texas committee was raising and spending $600,000 of corporate money on consultants, fundraisers, pollsters and phone banks. White said some of the cell phone numbers in the subpoena belong to the 12-year-old daughter of DeLay co-defendant Jim Ellis of Washington and to a campaign phone that was not operational until 2004.

>>>>Even as prosecutors took the offensive against DeLay, lawyers for his co-defendants were preparing to challenge in court today whether a crucial piece of evidence exists. John Colyandro of Austin and Ellis, who both were consultants to the political committee, are accused, along with DeLay, of conspiring to launder $190,000 of corporate money into political donations from the Republican National Committee to Texas candidates.

All three deny wrongdoing, saying the transaction was legal, but a lawyer for Ellis demanded in a pre-trial motion that prosecutors produce a list that Ellis is accused of giving the RNC showing how much money to give to seven Texas candidates. "It doesn't exist," said Joe Turner, who represents Colyandro. "I asked the prosecutors for the list, and they say they don't have a copy." According to the indictment, Ellis gave the list to RNC officials in Washington and two weeks later RNC gave $190,000 of political donations to the seven candidates.<<<<

[goldstategop]

He's trying to find evidence of hanky-panky. Earle is getting desperate.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)