DA Pressured to Quit Over DeLay Remark

State Republican Party leaders have called for the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle for referring to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, as a "bully" at a recent Democratic fundraiser in Dallas, according to a report in the Washington Times.

DA Earle's Austin office is investigating a case involving a DeLay-led political action committee.


"For Ronnie Earle to say with a straight face that he is an unbiased prosecutor is laughable," said state GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser of Houston. "Ronnie Earle's political motives are transparent. He is tainted and he should resign."


In his speech at the Democrat fundraiser, white-collar crime prosecutor Earle said, "If it isn't this Tom DeLay, it'll be another one - just like one bully replaces the one before. This is a structural problem involving the combination of money and power. Money brings power and power corrupts."

Earle and DeLay, who has been charged with no crime by Earle, sparred in a "60 Minutes" segment recently - with DeLay calling the Earle investigation "partisan" and "frivolous." Earle replied, "Being called vindictive and partisan by Tom DeLay is like being called ugly by a frog."