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Jewish World Review Oct. 7, 2005 / 4 Tishrei, 5766 Guilty of politics By Rich Lowry
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Tom DeLay might be guilty of something. He might be a ruthless
operator. He might be a right-wing zealot. But he almost certainly
broke no laws in the case brought against him by Democratic District
Attorney Ronnie Earle in Texas.
Liberals loathe Tom DeLay, who embodies all that they hate. But
even a Christian pro-life former exterminator from Texas doesn't
deserve the abuse to which DeLay is being subjected. Democrats
should recall their aversion to the politicized prosecutions from
the Clinton years. A prosecutor has enormous power, and unless he
wields it properly, he himself becomes an instrument of injustice.
In the Earle case, DeLay seems guilty only of committing
politics. In 2002, he spearheaded a Republican takeover of the Texas
House that meant Republicans could redraw the state's congressional
districts and pick up five seats in 2004. Democrats cried foul,
although the redistricting finally brought Texas' congressional
delegation more in line with the state's Republican leanings.
Immediately after the GOP's 2002 victory, Earle started
investigating.
He focused on a transaction between the DeLay-founded Texans for
a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC) and the Republican National State
Elections Committee (RNSEC). In Texas, it is illegal for
corporations to give money to candidates. TRMPAC raised $190,000
from corporations that it sent to RNSEC, which passed it to
candidates in states where corporate dollars are legal. Then, RNSEC
sent the same amount — or so Earle alleges — to Texas candidates
from an account that had been raised from individuals.
Earle says this is a crime, although he is hazy on why. Earle
got a grand jury, after six months, to indict DeLay on a conspiracy
charge. But it was doubtful whether the Texas conspiracy statute
applied to the election code in 2002. Earle then asked another grand
jury to indict DeLay on money laundering. It declined, angering
Earle. Finally, with the statute of limitations expiring, he got yet
another grand jury to do the deed after just hours of deliberation.
For a transaction to be money laundering, the money involved has
to be tainted. But both ends of the TRMPAC transaction were legal:
Corporate money went to candidates who could accept corporate money;
money raised from individuals went to Texas candidates. It also has
to be the same money coming out both ends. But the TRMPAC money went
into one account at RNSEC, and the money going to Texas came from
another.
A formality? Perhaps, but such swaps were popular prior to the
passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform after the
2002 election. According to campaign-finance expert James Bopp, both
political parties engaged in TRMPAC-like swaps thousands of times.
"It was extremely common," he says, "and everyone understood it was
totally legal."
Which is why DeLay would have been advised that TRMPAC was doing
nothing wrong. DeLay often walks up to the line, but we have laws so
that everyone knows where the line is. If that line is impossibly
vague or shifts after the fact, you don't have the rule of law, but
a morass open to exploitation by prosecutors with partisan or
personal motives. Earle has both.
He is the district attorney from liberal Travis County and has
made his animus to Tom DeLay obvious. Most members of the original
grand jury were Democrats, the kind of partisan advantage Earle will
lose if the case ever makes it out of his home turf. Although no one
can say for certain until all the facts are aired, DeLay will
probably prevail, either by getting the charges thrown out or by
winning at trial or eventually on appeal.
But the damage may already be done. When House Republicans
re-instated a rule saying that members of their leadership had to
step aside if indicted, they invited Earle to find a way to ruin
DeLay's career. He did. DeLay's opponents can enjoy the spectacle
and relish the result, but they shouldn't pretend that it is
justice.
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© 2005 King Features Syndicate |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
