Delay Moves to Dismiss Charge
Power Line
Earlier today, Tom DeLay's lawyers moved to dismiss Ronnie Earle's conspiracy indictment on the ground that Texas's conspiracy statute had no application to the election laws until it was amended in 2003--subsequent to the 2002 election cycle that is the subject of the indictment. The Austin Statesman notes that the term of the grand jury that Earle used to indict DeLay expired last week, and the statute of limitation may have run in the meantime.
DeLay's lawyer, adds an interesting observation:
DeLay's lawyer Dick DeGuerin said "rumors are flying"
that prosecutors were trying to find a sitting grand
jury, who hadn't heard any of the DeLay case, to return a
new money-laundering indictment.
As most of our readers probably know, grand jury proceedings are ex parte, which means that the DA has the grand jury all to himself. The target of an investigation, like DeLay, doesn't get to be represented by counsel and participate in the proceedings. Now that the indictment has been leveled, however, the playing field is even. DeLay gets to hire a lawyer--he's hired a very good one--and he gets equal time with the Court. It will be interesting to see what happens from here.
UPDATE: Sure enough, just a few minutes ago Earle got a new grand jury to indict DeLay on a new charge of "money laundering," which I assume we can take as an acknowledgement that the original charge can't stick. DeLay issued a statement in response to the new indictment:
Ronnie Earle has stooped to a new low with his brand of
prosecutorial abuse. 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.
Sounds right to me. Earle may be routed again, as he was when he brought a specious indictment against Kay Hutchison. It helps a lot when you get to hire a lawyer and defend yourself, doesn't it?
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