By Jennifer Bendery, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
By the devilish costumes and the orange balloons with streamers strung through the trees at the Travis County courthouse this morning, you would have thought you were at a Halloween party instead of part of the zoo of bystanders lined up for a glimpse of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Sugarland) on the day of his arraignment.
"Is the Hammer heading for the slammer?" one sign read. Nearby, a group of people sang anti-DeLay songs to the tune of "Glory Hallelujah" and gave out free cookies, juice and stickers reading "Improve Texas Without DeLay." A man with a harmonica sat by the front doors to the courthouse playing "The Eyes of Texas" until a team of lawyers spilled from the building and hushed the crowd.
DeLay and two associates, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, have been indicted by two Texas grand juries on felony charges of conspiracy and money laundering tied to the 2002 Texas House races. All deny any wrongdoing. Prior to today's scheduled arraignment at 9:00 a.m., DeLay was booked in Houston, where he was photographed, fingerprinted and released on $10,000 bond.
Dick DeGuerin, DeLay's attorney, emerged from the courthouse this morning shortly after the arraignment to announce that he filed a motion to remove Judge Robert Perkins, a Democrat, from the case against DeLay. This is "a serious motion," he said, because Perkins in the past has "supported causes and persons in direct opposition" to DeLay. The issue is not whether a judge is a Democrat or Republican, he said, but about Perkins actively supporting Democratic causes.
The motion alleges that Perkins has made six contributions to the Texas Democratic Party and Democratic National Committee since cases against Ellis and Colyandro came to his court a year ago, said DeGuerin. In addition, said the attorney, Perkins has given money to MoveOn.org, a liberal PAC that "raises money by insulting DeLay" and now sells t-shirts with DeLay's mug shot on them. Judges should "avoid even the appearance of impropriety," he said.
"All we want is a fair trial and a fair tribunal," DeGuerin said, noting that he also filed a motion to move the case out of Travis County. "There have been three years of leaks and innuendo" that have tainted the pool of potential jurors, he said. When asked where he would like the case to be heard instead, DeGuerin replied, "It would be nice to be in Ft. Worth."
While he never made a public appearance at the courthouse, DeLay later spoke with reporters in front of the State Capitol. "This morning, I appeared before the court and emphatically stated what I have maintained all along during this unfortunate episode: I have committed no wrongdoing," he said. "I know that, and more importantly, [Travis County District Attorney] Ronnie Earle knows it."
The Sugarland congressman said today is "a good day" because he now has the chance to go before a judge and "refute these baseless charges that are the result of a political vendetta being acted out by Ronnie Earle." The only reason he had to be at court today was because Earle has "abused his prosecutorial power and pursued these contrived and baseless charges," said DeLay.
DeLay said he has become a target of the Travis County District Attorney because of his actions taken "through the democratic process" to rid the Texas Legislature of "years of unfair gerrymandering by Texas Democrats." In addition, because Earle and the Democratic Party "could not beat me at the ballot box, could not beat me on the floor of the House of Representatives, they are now desperately trying to challenge me in a courtroom," he said. "In short, I have been charged for defeating Democrats, advocating constitutional representation and advancing the Republican agenda."
DeLay pledged to fight Earle's "abuse of the legal system" and said he "will be absolutely exonerated." He added that he will not let a prosecutor "who pursues his political enemies by abusing the law and manufacturing baseless charges wreck our justice system." Facts and the law will rule the day, said DeLay, not the "grand jury shopping and make-the-law-up-as-you-go injustice" by Earle.
Some consumer groups were quick to dispute DeLay's accusations. "Congressman DeLay has confused his alleged crimes with those meting out the corresponding punishment," said Texans for Public Justice Director Craig McDonald. "He says his prosecutor and judge are politically motivated. In fact, politics is what motivated DeLay's TRMPAC to test the limits of Texas elections law."
McDonald said it is clear that the 2002 Texas House elections were "marred by criminal acts" and it is now up to the criminal justice system to determine whether DeLay participated in these crimes. "Anyone guilty of white-collar crimes against Texas' democracy must be held accountable," he said.