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Delay Asks Court to Throw Out Indictment, Citing Irregularities

Posted on: Sunday, 9 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

By Suzanne Gamboa

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's legal team asked a court Friday to throw out his indictment, arguing that a Texas district attorney "attempted to browbeat and coerce" grand jurors into filing criminal charges.

Prosecutor Ronnie Earle "and his staff engaged in an extraordinarily irregular and desperate attempt to contrive a viable charge and get a substitute indictment of DeLay before the expiration of the statute of limitations," DeLay's attorney Dick DeGuerin said in a court filing alleging prosecutorial misconduct.

"These claims have no merit," Earle said. "Because of the laws protecting grand jury secrecy, no other comments can be made. The investigation is continuing."

DeGuerin alleged that Earle unlawfully participated in grand jury deliberations when he went to a second grand jury last week to seek a second indictment against the Texas Republican. He also said Earle illegally discussed grand jury information and encouraged others to do the same.

DeGuerin alleged that Earle turned to coercion tactics in an unsuccessful attempt to get the second grand jury to change its decision not to indict DeLay so there would be no public record of a rejection.

He said the indictment forced DeLay to step down from his job as majority leader, the No. 2 position in the House, for a crime that did not exist in Texas law.

DeLay was indicted Sept. 28 on a charge of conspiracy as the grand jury's term was expiring. But questions were raised about whether the law on which the indictment was based was in effect at the time of the alleged conspiracy.

Earle went to a second grand jury still in session, but that grand jury declined to indict. Monday, a third grand jury indicted DeLay on money laundering charges, which carry a punishment of five years to life in prison upon conviction.

The indictments against DeLay triggered a House Republican rule that forced him to step aside -- at least temporarily -- from his post as majority leader.

Both indictments focused on an alleged scheme to move money around to conceal the use of corporate contributions to support Texas Republican candidates. Texas law prohibits corporate donations to support or oppose state candidates, allowing the money to be used only for administrative expenses.

Two people familiar with the proceedings of the grand jury that returned a "no bill" in the DeLay case said that Earle tried to persuade the grand jurors that DeLay tacitly approved the scheme and that the prosecutor became angry when they decided against an indictment.

Source: Buffalo News

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