Judge sentences Tom DeLay to 3 years in prison

[sonias]

Washington Post 1/10/11
Judge sentences Tom DeLay to 3 years in prison

AUSTIN, Texas -- A judge has ordered U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to serve three years in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally funnel corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.

The sentence comes after a jury in November convicted DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DeLay was once one of the most powerful men in U.S. politics, ascending to the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives.

The former Houston-area congressman had faced up to life in prison. His attorneys asked for probation.

Not enough punishment!

[Melissa G]

1. Is he going to get probation or does he really have to serve the 3 years?

I have not seen clarity on this in the articles. Of course, there is always appeal...

[sonias]

3. No permanent jail unless he loses appeal

Remember what Bubba said last night - the sentence had to be at least 10 years for him to go directly to jail to start serving the sentence today.

With this sentence, all he has to do is post bail and go through the process of an appeal - ie. free on bond.

It sucks for us! :(

[sonias]

2. With video of DeLay emptying his pockets

ABC KTRK 1/10/11
Tom DeLay sentenced to 3 years in prison

(snip)
Lead prosecutor Gary Cobb asked Hastert if one of DeLay's religious and conservative values was taking acceptance for doing wrong. Hastert said he hasn't personally heard DeLay take responsibility for the actions that resulted in his conviction.

(snip)
After a month-long trial in November, a jury determined that he conspired with two associates to use his Texas-based political action committee to send $190,000 in corporate money to an arm of the Washington-based Republican National Committee. The RNC then sent the same amount to seven Texas House candidates. Under Texas law, corporate money can't go directly to political campaigns.

Prosecutors claim the money helped Republicans take control of the Texas House. That enabled the Republican majority to push through a Delay-engineered congressional redistricting plan that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004, strengthening DeLay's political power.

DeLay contended the charges were politically motivated and the money swap in question was legal. DeGuerin says DeLay committed no crime and believes the convictions will be overturned on appeal.

The video is good but the prognosis is not.:(

[sonias]

4. Tom DeLay receives prison sentence

KVUE 1/11/10
Tom DeLay receives prison sentence
Judge Pat Priest sentenced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to a total of eight years in prison.

He made the ruling immediately after closing arguments ended just after 2 p.m. Monday afternoon.

(snip)
The judge sentenced DeLay to five years in prison for his money laundering charge for which he can opt to do 10 years of community service instead.

[Gothmog]

5. Had Delay made bond yet?

Hopefully, it will be a high bond and they take away his passport. DeLay is a clear flight risk in my opinion.

[sonias]

7. Oh hell you know that's in the tank

I'm sure the RNC cronies have all paid up to "help" the Slammer out.

He'll be out soon if not already. :(

[Gothmog]

8. Delay may not be too popular with the GOP

Nick Lampson got elected back in 2006 due to the fact that DeLay gamed the system and ran in the GOP primary to raise money for his legal defense fund and then dropped out of the race leaving the GOP with only a write-in campaign. There were some hard feelings with some GOP members on that stunt.

[CoolOnion]

6. Finally, some good news.

[WolverineDG]

9. well, I'm dying to know

HOW WAS THE PARTY????

:)

dg

[sonias]

10. Oh it was very nice

I think Juanita Jean has a picture up. I've been busy this afternoon and haven't had a chance to post the 3 I took.

I won a door prize for answering a question. I have a "rare" No DeLay cap.

Juanita Jean's Hammer to the Slammer Party

:hi:

[sonias]

11. DeLay sentenced to 3 years in prison, freed on appeal bond

AAS 1/10/11
DeLay sentenced to 3 years in prison, freed on appeal bond

An unrepentant Tom DeLay was sentenced Monday to three years in prison, hustled from the courtroom by Travis County deputies but released on a $10,000 appeal bond before the end of the day.

(snip)
State District Judge Pat Priest of San Antonio said he believed DeLay conspired to launder $190,000 of corporate money into campaign donations during the 2002 election by funneling it through the Republican National Committee. Texas law forbids corporate donations to candidates.

(snip)
Priest said Monday there is no more basic standard than that those who write the laws must follow the law. He also said he didn't believe DeLay's argument that prosecutors picked him out for selective prosecution. The judge cited the testimony of a Republican National Committee leader who said he had never done a money exchange like the one he did for DeLay's political committee.

(snip)
DeLay will remain out of jail pending his appeal.

:kick:

[sonias]

12. Defiant DeLay: No Regrets

Texas Observer 1/10/11
Defiant DeLay: No Regrets

(snip)
DeLay told the judge that he paid little attention to the letters of admonishment he subsequently received from the House Ethics Committee. “I didn’t agree with those letters,” DeLay said of the admonishments, which he characterized as political in nature. (The Ethics Committee is the only House committee comprised of an equal number of Democratic and Republican representatives. To be admonished, at least one member of his party would have voted against DeLay, and DeLay was the only member of the House receive three such letters from the Ethics Committee.)

"Everything I did was covered by accountants and lawyers who told me what I had to do to stay within the law,” DeLay told the judge. (During the trial, the judge had told the jury that a lawyer advising someone that an act is legal does not make that act legal.)

“This D.A., Ronnie Earle, who has a reputation of going after his political enemies—somebody approached him,” DeLay said of the Travis County District Attorney who brought the charges against him. (Earle has retired since he indicted DeLay in 2005.)

Whiner!

[sonias]

13. The Verdict Is In

Juanita Jeans 1/10/11
The Verdict Is In

(snip)
He whined so much that he had say “I’m not whining,” three different times. If you have to say it that much, you’re whining. He clutched a Bible in his hands as he told the judge that he wasn’t guilty and blamed Nancy Pelosi, Patrick Kennedy, and Ronnie Earl for all his problems. I’m sure they all three don’t mind. He also said that his wife says that he’s “passionate and arrogant.”. No kidding. He also said he’s raised and spent $10 million for legal fees. I would suggest that most of it was illegally raised. Best of all, he blamed ” the criminalization of politics.”. Damn, he invented that! I’m sure that his trying to impeach Bill Clinton over hooch-kooky was where he learned that. More later – we’re going to celebrate!

:rofl:

Juanita Jean did us proud today by keeping us in the loop with her Twitter feed. She is priceless!!

:loveya: Susan!!!

[onestepforward]

14. Repubs wrote the book on blaming others

and rarely, if ever, take responsibility for their own actions.

3 years doesn't seem like much for all the damage he has done to Texas, but it's something. I want to see the next picture of him in an orange jumpsuit!

:evilgrin:

[sonias]

15. Me too

But I'm not holding my breath. This thing goes to appeals court and Texas courts are not our friends. They can be bought easily.

:shrug:

[onestepforward]

16. Oh. I see what you're talking about.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7374658.html

-snip-

DeLay may have a good chance of having his case overturned on appeal.

In a pre-trial appeal by DeLay's two co-defendants in the case, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, the Third Court of Appeals indicated that money laundering by check was not an offense under Texas law until 2005. The Court of Criminal Appeals said the issue was not ripe for consideration until after a trial on the facts in the case. Their appeals took five years.

Colyandro and Ellis are being tried separately.

Yikes.

[sonias]

17. Exactly - the Third Court of Appeals is not the peoples' friend

They're in the pocket of the Texas Republican Party and or/large corporate donors.

The only thing Tom DeLay loses is more money in his legal representation taking the appeal forward. :(

[sonias]

18. DeLay's punishment is uncommonly harsh

San Antonio Express News 1/11/11
DeLay's punishment is uncommonly harsh
(snip)

DeLay's defense lawyer, Dick DeGuerin of Houston, on Tuesday said DeLay's sentence is unfair, especially when compared to the one Flores received.

“This was a guy who was known as Mr. 10 Percent. He took a kickback on everything,” DeGuerin said. DeLay “didn't steal any money. He didn't rob anybody. He didn't beat anybody up.”

Prosecutors had asked Priest for a longer sentence, at least 10 years, so DeLay would have to start serving time immediately. They said they wanted to send a signal that just because someone wears a suit and a tie, he is not going to get probation.

On Tuesday, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said she's satisfied with the sentence even though it doesn't require DeLay to go to the penitentiary immediately.

“We believed the defendant deserved to be incarcerated for some period of time due to the serious nature of the crimes for which he was convicted,” Lehmberg said. “After hearing all the evidence in the case, both as to guilt and as to punishment, Judge Priest set an appeal bond that he believed was adequate. We are satisfied that both the appeal bond and the punishment assessed by Judge Priest are reasonable and fair.”

Can't believe this author can write that with a straight face. He must be pro-DeLay. In any case that cockroach will never see any more jail time for his crimes, so I can't see how that's "too harsh".

:nopity:

[sonias]

19. DeLay says he was victim of political prosecution

AAS 1/13/11

DeLay says he was victim of political prosecution

WASHINGTON — Former House Republican leader Tom DeLay says his conviction on money laundering charges was a politically-inspired case brought by prosecutors in "the most liberal county in Texas."

DeLay tells NBC's "Today" show that prosecutors "never proved" their case against him. DeLay is free on bond after being sentenced to three years in prison and 10 years' probation on a conviction of scheming to illegally influence Texas elections.

Let the spin begin!!

:nopity:

[sonias]

20. DeLay tries song and dance over breakfast

AAS Editorial 1/13/11
DeLay tries song and dance over breakfast

(snip)

The three-year sentence imposed by state District Judge Pat Priest of San Antonio sealed DeLay's conversion from political power to convicted felon. Nonetheless, the "Today" appearance demonstrates that the former U.S. House majority leader still can command national attention.

DeLay used the appearance to repeat his tired claim that liberal Travis County Democrats did him in. The claim is specious but still sells to people who want to believe it.

This is not a case of a hapless defendant overwhelmed by the state's might. DeLay had Dick DeGuerin — one of the state's best defense lawyers — and a top-flight supporting staff representing him.

DeLay's lawyers helped pick the jury after demanding successfully that the original trial judge — Bob Perkins, now retired — be taken off the case. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, a Republican, appointed Priest to replace Perkins on the trial bench.

Most defendants don't have the luxury or economic flexibility to go judge shopping.

:nopity:

[sonias]

21. The end of Tom DeLay

Salon Magazein 1/15/11
The end of Tom DeLay

(snip)
I asked Dubose whether DeLay, who is planning an appeal, will ever see the inside of a jail cell, and whether the former majority leader appears humbled by the ordeal of the trial. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.


Did you ever think that you would see this happen?

I really didn't. This was a working class jury, and I think that made a huge difference.

What was the dynamic with the jury -- why did that make a difference?

Gary Cobb, the assistant DA who tried the case, really dragged out the $50,000 checks and the flights on corporate jets with the same persons who had written the checks to DeLay's PAC. The sort of life that Tom DeLay lived at the expense of the corporate lobby -- I think that really made an impact. By their clothes and what we know about them, it was a real working-class jury.

Oddly enough, Tom DeLay spent the entire duration of the three-week trial in a motor home rather than the Four Seasons. He drove his motor coach over here and checked into a motor home park in south Austin, a long way from where he was playing golf at Saint Andrews in Scotland. Then there was also the fact of the way the DeLays dressed, the fact that Reverend Rick Scarborough was sitting behind them. There was a lot of bling there that these people on the jury didn't have.

Great read! :thumbsup: