@@@
Posted on 10/20/2005 9:32:07 PM PDT by flattorney
Former Majority Leader Begins Fight Against Felony Charges.
Citing partisan differences, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, wants a new judge to hear his conspiracy and money-laundering charges somewhere other than Travis County. DeLay's lawyer on Thursday asked state District Judge Bob Perkins, a Democrat, to remove himself from the case because of donations the judge made to the Democratic Party, its candidates and the political organization, Moveon.org. By challenging the judge's impartiality, lawyer Dick DeGuerin is taking a page from his playbook a dozen years ago when Perkins removed himself from a trial of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison because the judge gave money to her Senate opponent. DeGuerin also got that trial on charges of official misconduct moved to Fort Worth where he won an acquittal in an abbreviated trial.
DeGuerin filed his motions one day before DeLay is scheduled to appear before Perkins for the first time. The former U.S. House majority leader is expected to plead not guilty this morning to charges of conspiracy and money laundering before the 2002 election during a brief hearing beamed live to cable outlets and before a packed courtroom. "It's been non-stop," said D'Ann Underwood, Perkins' judicial aide, of the national media's focus on the DeLay case. During her 26 years, Underwood has seen other notable politicians come before the judge — Texas Speaker Gib Lewis and Hutchison to name two. "But it wasn't ever like this," she said.
Also Thursday, DeLay sidestepped news reporters awaiting his booking in Austin or his home county by quietly being fingerprinted, photographed and released on $10,000 bail at a Houston jail, instead. The whole affair took about 30 minutes. "Now Ronnie Earle has the mug shot he wanted," said DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin, referring to the Travis County district attorney who sought the indictments. "I wanted to avoid the circus. . . . He wanted a perp walk, and we did not want to do it." DeLay also doesn't want to be tried in Travis County.
In his filing, DeGuerin cited 34 contributions from Perkins to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, the Travis County Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee, and 2002 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez, among others, over the past three years. The donations ranged from $35 to the Texas Democratic Party to $1,000 to the Travis County Democratic Party. DeGuerin wrote that Perkins' campaign donations "don't pass the smell test" when he is asked to preside over a case questioning campaign practices of DeLay, his political committee Texans for a Republican Majority and the Republican National Committee.
Under that logic, Earle replied, a criminal defendant could not be tried unless the judge belonged to the defendant's political party. "We don't believe that to be the law or good public policy," Earle said. He added that a fair trial can be held in Travis County. DeGuerin's motion asked Perkins to step aside or, at least, allow Judge B.B. Schraub, the presiding judge of the 3rd Administrative Judicial Region, to decide whether Perkins should preside. Schraub, a Seguin Republican, was re-appointed to the administrative post by Gov. Rick Perry in 2002.
Travis County jurors also would be hostile to DeLay, DeGuerin argued. He said the "seemingly interminable" investigation of DeLay by Earle, a Democrat, has generated "massive and unrelenting media coverage" in Travis County, "one of the last enclaves of the Democratic Party in Texas." DeGuerin said DeLay is a controversial politician whose efforts to split Travis County into three congressional districts in 2003 remains highly unpopular locally. The filing included more than 40 affidavits by local residents saying DeLay could not get a fair trial locally.
Also, on Thursday DeLay's legal team filed a brief arguing that the state conspiracy statute does not apply to the election code or to money-laundering and the indictments should be thrown out. He also wrote that DeLay's alleged offense — laundering $190,000 of corporate money through the Republican National Committee — occurred more than three years ago. There is a three-year deadline for pursuing a money-laundering charge. Prosecutors are expected to answer the arguments in writing in a few days.
One issue, however, will be whether DeLay waived the statute of limitations during negotiations to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. DeGuerin argued that DeLay waived the deadline only for misdemeanors, not the felonies he is now charged with. GOP rules in Congress forced DeLay to resign his position as majority leader when two Travis County grand juries indicted him on felonies in late September and early October. Last month DeLay's legal team tried to avoid that outcome by offering to let their client plead to a misdemeanor if the appellate courts upheld the state election law as constitutional. The talks, however, collapsed; DeLay was indicted; and the appellate courts are still reviewing a constitutional challenge to the election code.
DeGuerin has accused Earle of trying to coerce a guilty plea from his client, shopping his accusations to three grand juries and violating the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. DeLay has given several televised interviews, blasting the investigation as politically motivated. And supporters of DeLay aired a commercial depicting Earle as an out-of-control Rottweiler.
Judge Perkins is not expected to rule on any pre-trial motions today. Instead, he probably will schedule arguments on DeLay's motions next month when he is hearing similar motions from DeLay's co-defendants, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis.
Colyandro ran Texans for a Republican Majority, a committee DeLay created to help elect Republican state lawmakers who, in turn, would redraw congressional districts. Ellis was DeLay's right-hand fundraiser in Washington and a consultant to the Texas Committee. State law prohibits spending corporate money on campaigns, but a committees can spend it on administrative overhead. In the final weeks of the 2002 campaign, Colyandro sent a blank check to Ellis, who had scheduled a meeting with Terry Nelson with the Republican National Committee. He filled in the check for $190,000 — drawn from corporate funds — and gave it to Nelson. Two weeks later, an arm of the RNC gave the same amount in political donations to seven Texas legislative candidates.
Yes, like it was once the law that whites couldn't marry blacks in some states. Just because it's the law doesn't mean it's right and shouldn't be overturned.
Obeyed until its overturned, otherwise chaos.
Ha ha. Remember, a tarnished rep for a DIMocrat is a resume enhancer. AFAICS a crappy rep is no hinderance for DIMs. They are completely amoral.
Classic money laundering is taking "dirty" money and making it "clean".
That sure would frost Ronnie Earle.
Articles from the San Francisco Chronicle need to be excerpted and linked.
Updated FR Excerpt and Link Only or Deny Posting List due to Copyright Complaints
Disguising the source is money laundering. Sometimes legal, sometimes illegal. Either was deceitful.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.