Posted on 03/04/2006 7:30:22 AM PST by Dog Gone
AUSTIN - The criminal case against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay is on hold before the Texas appeals courts, but prosecutors continue to issue subpoenas about DeLay's political controversies that are seemingly unrelated to the money-laundering charges against him.
"It's a publicity stunt," said DeLay lead attorney Dick DeGuerin of Houston. "At last count, there were 60 or something subpoenas."
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle says his investigation of DeLay's fundraising activities is continuing.
Earle did not respond to a Houston Chronicle request to explain how his subpoenas — ranging from records of a bribery case against a California congressman to how a dishonored lobbyist paid for DeLay's trip to Scotland — have anything to do with DeLay's political activities in Texas during the 2002 elections.
DeLay's lawyers and Republicans claim the subpoenas have no legitimate role in the criminal case and are merely designed to prompt bad publicity against the former U.S. House majority leader.
In Tuesday's Republican primary, DeLay of Sugar Land faces three challengers: Pat Baig, Tom Campbell and Michael Fjetland. Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson is unopposed in the Democratic primary, and former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman has filed as an independent.
Priest let stand money-laundering charges that accuse DeLay and two other men of allegedly conspiring to funnel illegal corporate money from Texans for a Republican Majority through the Republican National Committee to help finance seven candidates for the Texas House.
Earle immediately appealed Priest's ruling, bringing the criminal case against DeLay to a halt. The Texas Third Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the case March 22.
Since the case went up on appeal, Earle has issued subpoenas for:
•Records of PerfectWave Technologies and its executives as they relate to the bribery case against former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. The only direct connection to the DeLay case is that PerfectWave gave $15,000 to TRMPAC in 2002, but the company is not among those listed in indictments as having made illegal contributions.
•Records of how convicted influence peddler Jack Abramoff arranged for his lobby clients to pay for a DeLay trip to Scotland in 2000. One of the clients who paid for the Scottish trip — the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians — gave $1,000 to TRMPAC in 2001. The donation was legal.
•Abramoff's former employers, the law firms of Greenberg Traurig and Preston Gates Eillis & Rouvelas Meed, also have received subpoenas for records. Preston Gates gave a legal $25,000 to TRMPAC in 2002, but it was after Abramoff left the firm.
•Earle also wants records on a Federal Election Commission enforcement action against the National Republican Congressional Committee for illegally donating $500,000 in corporate money to a radio campaign against congressional Democrats in the 2000 election.
•While those records might show a pattern of conduct by DeLay and one of his co-defendants, Jim Ellis, legal experts interviewed by the Chronicle said Texas law makes it very difficult to introduce past acts at a trial.
•Earle also has subpoenaed bank records from the Republican Party of Texas covering August 2002 to January 2003.
Lawyers for DeLay, Ellis and TRMPAC Executive Director John Colyandro have said they raised the corporate money to give to the Texas party but sent it to the RNC in September 2002 because the state party did not need it. But the party records would show it was not accepting corporate money at that time because state law prohibited the party from raising corporate money after August.
"It's so far afield as to what the case is about, he (Earle) is just using it to generate stories," DeGuerin said.
DeGuerin said the subpoenas are not enforceable because the case is on appeal. He said he asked Priest to quash the subpoenas. An e-mail from Priest shows he declined because the case is before the appeals court, but Priest also said he will not enforce the subponeas against those persons and corporations that received them.
DeGuerin said he does not know if anyone has honored the subponeas by turning records over to Earle, though it would not surprise him if some had.
"You get a bunch of these namby-pamby civil lawyers representing companies and they see something that says subpoena and they just quake in their boots."
University of Texas law professor Samuel Buell and South Texas College of Law professor Susan Crump told the Chronicle they also thought it would be difficult for Earle to get evidence about Abramoff and other incidents into evidence in a trial against DeLay.
Buell said the evidence might be used to attack DeLay's credibility if he testifies in his own defense.
DeGuerin said he will fight any attempt to introduce evidence at trial not directly related to the case against DeLay.
Man, does this feel good! Campbell got his rear handed to him. I'm assuming SolidSupplySide is under a rock somewhere.
I don't know why so many people bought the MSM line that Texans were going to dump Delay. After all, they more than anyone, know what Earl is all about.
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