A Texas grand jury on Monday re-indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on charges of conspiring to launder money and money laundering after the former majority leader attacked last week's indictment on technical grounds.
The new indictment, handed up by a grand jury seated Monday, contains two counts: conspiring to launder money and money laundering. The latter charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Last week, DeLay was charged with conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws.
Defense lawyers asked a judge Monday to throw out the first indictment, arguing that the charge of conspiring to violate campaign finance laws was based on a statute that didn't take effect until 2003 - a year after the alleged acts.
The new indictment from District Attorney Ronnie Earle, coming just hours after the new grand jurors were sworn in, outraged DeLay.
"Ronnie Earle has stooped to a new low with his brand of prosecutorial abuse," DeLay said in a statement. "He is trying to pull the legal equivalent of a 'do-over' since he knows very well that the charges he brought against me last week are totally manufactured and illegitimate. This is an abomination of justice."
DeLay and two political associates are accused of conspiring to get around a state ban on corporate campaign contributions by funneling the money through the DeLay-founded Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee to the Republican National Committee in Washington. The RNC then sent back like amounts to distribute to Texas candidates in 2002, the indictment alleges.
DeLay's associates, John Colyandro of Austin and Jim Ellis of Washington, were each previously indicted on charges of conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws and money laundering.
The judge who will preside in DeLay's case is out of the country on vacation and couldn't rule on the defense motion. Other state district judges declined to rule on the motion in his place.
1 comment:
I don't know how you can indict someone for a violation of a law that didn't exist at the time it was alledgedly perpetrated. If that's true and I believe it is based on what I have read about the indictment, that indictment will be thrown out.
As to money laundering, this new indictment, it's beginning to look like Earl realizes he screwed up and is now trying to introduce a new charge. Hold on to your hats folks, its going to be a bumpy ride. If Delay get found guilty of money laundering, then I think all Senators and representatives campaigns should be visited and if similar transactions took place then every single one who was involved in any similar activity should be indicted. We know that Nancy Pelosi certainly was. Why is there no call for an investigation into that matter?
We all know why. If these politicians broke the law then they should be punished regardless of what party they come from. But that will not happen.
Expect to see the indictment disappear because if Delay goes down so will many other politicians.
Based on what I read as a description of what took place, I believe that there is not enough elements of the crime to support Money Laundering or conspiracy to do so.
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