So what, exactly, is the scoop? Well, via Orin Kerr we find the indictment itself. It's in legalese, but as far as I can gather its an indictment for conspiracy--the only way that DeLay is in the jurisdiction of Travis County. But criminal law is not something I'm an expert on, find someone else to parse the indictment itself.
[Update: Mark Levin thinks the indictment is very weak. I have to admit, I didn't see much in it either. However, Bulldog Pundit says that indictments are commoly quite thin on details. Lorie Byrd gets both hat tips, and adds for her part that she doubts Earle would make the indictment unless he could make the case. She then engages in gratutious Clinton-bashing that, from my perspective, utterly inverts reality, but we'll forgive that. Excellent legal analysis at Southern Appeal as well. On a related note, Kevin Drum thinks that to make the conspiracy charge stick, Earle will need to flip some of the folks already under investigation to testify. I've heard rumors that he's been trying to do that--does he have the goods?]
Powerline gives us excerpts of DeLay's PR defense. It's boilerplate--Earle is a partisan hack, I did nothing wrong, I'll be vindicated in court, etc etc.. The kicker line:
Let me be very, very clear. I have done nothing wrong. I have violated no law, no regulation, no rule of the House. I have done nothing unlawful, unethical, or, I might add, unprecedented even in the political campaigns of Mr. Earle himself.
My defense in this case will not be technical or legalistic: it will be categorical and absolute. I am innocent. Mr. Earle and his staff know it. And I will prove it.
He specifically claims that he has done absolutely nothing wrong or unethical, and is quite adamant about it. This is interesting, because of a certain passage I recall from a recent Washington Times interview conducted with him:
Mr. Hurt: Have you ever crossed the line of ethical behavior in terms of dealing with lobbyists, your use of government authority or with fundraising?
Mr. DeLay: Ever is a very strong word.
Not quite as blustery back then.
The line that Earle is a partisan Democrat is also belied by the facts. In his time as district attorney, he's prosecuted 11 Democrats for corruption, versus 5 Republicans. And as the Austin American-Statesman informs us, the Democrats weren't small fries either: he went after a state attorney general, state house speaker, state supreme court justice, and state treasurer. Aside from people just asserting it, I've never heard evidence to suggest that he is partisan. The modified version of the meme is that he goes after his "political opponents," but I don't see the evidence to support that either. After all, why is DeLay one of his political opponents anyway? He's not in his district, DeLay wasn't threatening his job or anything. This seems to be paranoia, nothing more.
Democrats are mostly jubilant (as they should be). I concur with Kevin Drum that this has to be the spearpoint of our 2006 campaign--anti-corruption should become the mantlepiece of the Democratic party. This is a major turning point, where the wise and ethical politicians (they do exist) can stand up and say "enough!" Bruce Reed's recommendations are a good start. And If opposing corruption means throwing our members of the dirty 13, so be it.
The Republican response has been interesting. Though there still are some die-hard defenders (like Powerline and Malkin), many others think that the party has made a mistake in defending DeLay. And Legal Fiction (not himself a Republican) wonders how many Republicans are secretly glad to see DeLay step aside?
I would have thought it would be a lot--but recent developments leave me unsure. The word on the street say that rank and file Republicans bucked their leadership to install Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) as the new majority leader over David Drier. That's an interesting decision, because Blunt is probably DeLay's closest ally (and it shows--he too is a member of the dirty 13). If elected Republicans really were interested in seizing this opportunity to clean house, they're doing an odd job of showing it.
What makes Blunt really interesting is that he, unlike Drier, has an independent power base. Which means he might be able to hold the majority leader position even if DeLay comes back. The upshot is that the GOP is trying to jettison DeLay while preserving the sleazy politics he founded and Blunt whole-heartedly signs onto. All the more reason for Democrats to hammer on it.
Excellent roundups at Project Nothing and Outside the Beltway. But man, this makes my day. It's the beginning of the end for Tom DeLay and his K Street Crew buddies.
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