Free Republic

September 30, 2005--On the second evening following the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a growing number of Americans believe the charges against the powerful Republican are politically motivated. On Wednesday night, 43% said the charges were based upon the facts involved while 31% said they were politically motivated.On Thursday, following a full day of news coverage, 37% said the charges were based upon the facts while 39% said they were politically motivated.The rest of the data changed little from night to night. Seventeen percent (17%) had a favorable opinion of DeLay on both nights. Overall, 38% had an...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Travis County, Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle, the man behind Wednesday's indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on state campaign-finance charges, has also indicted several corporations in the probe. But last June, National Review's Byron York learned that Earle offered some of those companies deals in which the charges would be dismissed — if the corporations came up with big donations to one of Earle's favorite causes. Here is that report, from June 20, 2005: Ronnie Earle, the Texas prosecutor who has indicted associates of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in an ongoing campaign-finance investigation, dropped felony charges...