DeLay Wrap-Up

Today's Statesman editorial on DeLay, Travis County grand jury has spoken; now it is up to the courts takes offense at his false statement about their earlier editorial:

In his taped statement, DeLay attacked Earle personally and said , "(As) recently as two weeks ago, Mr. Earle himself publicly admitted I had never been a focus or target of his inquiry. Soon thereafter, Mr. Earle's hometown newspaper ran a biting editorial about his investigation, rhetorically asking what the point had been, after all, if I wasn't to be indicted.

"It was this renewed political pressure in the waning days of his hollow investigation that led this morning's action."

A Sept. 11 American-Statesman editorial questioned why only the political action committees and not the individuals behind them had been indicted. DeLay was not mentioned by name, nor was there an allusion to him. It is either DeLay's hubris or his conscience that leads him to think that the editorial targeted him.

At issue was Earle's indictment organizations and not individuals, not that he hadn't indicted DeLay, specifically, Four indictments issued against TAB; one against TRMPAC. They also have this page that has the whole story, if you need the history.

Chris Bell Responds to the DeLay Indictment:

Today’s indictment makes it obvious that the House Ethics Committee needs to finally launch a full investigation of the ethics charges I filed against Tom DeLay last year. When I broke the so-called ‘ethics truce’ and took on Tom DeLay, there were even a few Democratic leaders who asked me to back off. Now it is clear that the corruption in Texas goes all the way to the top and that his cash & carry criminality has infected all levels of Texas government.

KXAN gives us the Reaction To DeLay Indictment:

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX):

"My heart goes out to Tom and his family. We must all remember that in our system of justice he is innocent until proven otherwise and he deserves the chance to tell his story. I am very concerned about the recent news leaks predicting exactly what happened today. Those leaks taint the judicial process and should never happen."

She didn't seem to mind when they were leaking about him not getting indicted. BOR has Sen. Hutchison's history with Ronnie Earle, Kay Bailey Hutchison was GUILTY.


What John Carter/Old #6 is saying about his gravy train getting indicted?

From The Hill, DeLay indicted, steps down:

The possibility of an indictment was a topic of discussion during the morning conference meeting yesterday, almost three hours before the indictment was announced. In that meeting, Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), a former judge, told conference members the details of the case and explained why he thought the charges were baseless

Please everyone sit, while Rep. Carter preaches on why the charges are baseless. Probably just a bunch of swearing and plotting against Ronnie Earle.

From the Statesman, DeLay risks losing post, job:

Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, said he was confident DeLay would be acquitted.

"However, it is unfortunate that DeLay is being punished for an accusation by losing his leadership post. This is a far cry from what I believe in and what the American justice system prescribes: punishment after conviction."

...

To date, more than $400,000 in contributions have come from Republicans, including $10,000 from Rep. Lamar Smith of San Antonio and $5,000 from Carter. Perry expects a boost in donations after the indictment.

Fox News, I know, Tom DeLay Steps Down From Leadership Post After Indictment:

"I happen to have a copy of the indictment in my hand right here and I think the indictment has some problems," said Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, who said Earle pursued the indictment for three years and six grand juries because he knew that under House rules, there would be "instant punishment as the result of an indictment."

The indictment has "escalated politics into the courthouse," Carter told FOX News.