DeLay indicted, will step aside as majority leader
Rep. Tom DeLay could be forced to step down as House majority leader.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Texas grand jury on Wednesday charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, forcing the House majority leader to temporarily relinquish his post.
DeLay, 58, was accused of a criminal conspiracy along with two associates, John Colyandro, former executive director of a Texas political action committee formed by DeLay, and Jim Ellis, who heads DeLay's national political committee.
"I have notified the speaker that I will temporarily step aside from my position as majority leader pursuant to rules of the House Republican Conference and the actions of the Travis County district attorney today," DeLay said....
Who knows what a jury will decide, but the four-page indictment isn't much to go on... the charge is for conspiracy, which because of its vagueness can be the easiest indictment to bring but the most difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. He also deserves the presumption of innocence because of Earle's guilty past. A lib Democrat, he has a history of indicting political enemies, Democrat and Republican, on flimsy evidence that didn't hold up in court. In the mid-1980s, he indicted Attorney General Jim Mattox, a rival of his ally Ann Richards, on bribery charges. Mr. Mattox was acquitted and won re-election. In 1993, he indicted Kay Bailey Hutchison, who'd just been elected to the U.S. Senate, on charges of misconduct and records tampering. Mr. Earle was forced to drop the case even before it went to trial. Earlier this year, the prosecutor delivered a widely criticized speech at a Democratic fund-raiser in which he compared his prosecutorial targets to "Mussolini and his fascists" declaring war on Delay. DeLay has earned the wrath of Democrats by his re-redistricting of the Texas Congressional delegation before the 2004 election-- helped turn six House seats over to the GOP. Without his prodding, the House would never have impeached Clinton. looks like paybacks.
www.michellemalkin.com has a rundown of some of the details; Delay is named, but the indictment presents no evidence against him. Moreover, the prosecutor spent three years and has had numerous breaches of ethics and even law (grand jury leaks) involved.
Whatever one thinks of Delay, this case stinks and should result in the DA's prosecution.
"HUME: Do you have any doubts as to whether you will be acquitted?
DELAY: No. I'm innocent. The truth is on my side and the facts are on my side. That's why this is just the worst travesty of justice I have ever seen."
Dr. Joel Beeke | 11/11/2012
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