Posted on 01/10/2011 12:34:04 PM PST by Beaten Valve
Tom DeLay sentenced to 3-years in prison.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Could have been much worse. Thank God he will be able to have a life when he gets out. Three Years will go fast. If I were him, I would write a book or two while inside. They are able to do that.
Mission Accomplished!
Yikes. What did he REALLY do, or is this just a Kangaroo Kourt prosecution? Did he get prosecuted for somethig most DC politicos do?
And Rangle will never see the inside of a jail cell.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A judge has ordered U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to serve three years in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally funnel corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.
The sentence comes after a jury in November convicted DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DeLay was once one of the most powerful men in U.S. politics, ascending to the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives.
The former Houston-area congressman had faced up to life in prison. His attorneys asked for probation.
I wonder if the judge will let him stay out of jail until appeals have been heard.
UPDATED: Judge Pat Priest sentenced Tom DeLay to three years in prison.
The three-year sentence was on the charge of conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations during the 2002 elections.
On the charge of money laundering, DeLay was sentenced to five years in prison, but that was probated for 10 years. That means he would serve 10 years’ probation.
DeLay was taken into custody but he was expected to be released as soon as he posted an appeals bond.
The judge then ordered the courtroom cleared except for the lawyers.
Prior to the sentence, DeLay spoke to the court.
He was unrepentant.
“I fought the fight. I ran the race. I kept the faith,” DeLay said.
end snip
He became a powerful Republican. He was charged by a Dem prosecutor and tried in a Dem county.
Yes with the posting of a bond............
His real guilt ? Daring to try to win the U.S. House for the Republicans. This is disgusting.
A crook is a crook, regardless of party affiliation.
Delay was convicted of a crime that wasn’t a crime when he committed it. The prosecutor, Ronnie Earle had a personal vendetta against Delay and didn’t give up until he got a conviction. Earle shopped grand juries until he got one that would carry out the conviction. This was a political witch hunt and the bad guy won for now.
Two issues come to my mind:
Is this what congress had in mind with the money laundering statutes?
Isn’t this an end run around the constitution which left the discipline of congress members for acts related to their office up to the respective congressional body?
Explain the crime he committed, Sherlock.
They railroaded a Republican that was powerful. He committed no crime other than being in the wrong party.
Both him and Scooter Libby made the mistake of thinking that the Justice system is fair and impartial. It’s a rigged game and once you’re in it the odds are very good that you’ll be found guilty of something (or forced to admit to guilt just to avoid jail time). Neither Scooter or Tom had enough money/power to derail this system and this should be a lesson for anyone here, if a cop/prosecutor wants to put you in jail, he can with the willing accent of 12 men/women who are so brain dead now that it hardly matters that they are there since they automatically assume that since you’ve been charged you must be guilty of something!
Read some of the blogs that deal with this, it will scare the Beelzebub out of you and make you wonder what happen to America.
If democrats can do this injustice to Delay then they can do it to any of us. Freedom must be protected.
The conservative justices appointed by the Republican Congress stuck down McCain-Feingold and all similar laws passed in the last 100 years.So Democrats are putting Delay in prison because of made up lies based on laws that are evil, unconstitutional and have been repealed.
So what is DeLay guilty of? Taking PAC money, sending to RNC, RNC sending money to Republican candidates in Texas. No stealing money. Money didn’t go to DeLay? What’s the crime? Isn’t this what all PAC’s do? Are all PAC’s crooks?
Earle shopped grand juries until he got one that would carry out the conviction.
True Earle shopped grand juries until he found one that would issue the charges. However that grand jury didn’t sit in judgment of DeLay.
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.