Posted on 10/13/2005 2:27:40 PM PDT by flattorney
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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."
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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.
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.
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.
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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)
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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.<<<<
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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