It’s All Political By Bryan Preston

20 May, 2005 by John Hawkins

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Tom Delay’s prosecutor gives a public speech in which he calls his quarry a bully. The speech raised money for local Democrats. Details:

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who denies partisan motives for his investigation of a political group founded by Republican leader Tom DeLay, was the featured speaker last week at a Democratic fund-raiser where he spoke directly about the congressman.
A newly formed Democratic political action committee, Texas Values in Action Coalition, hosted the May 12 event in Dallas to raise campaign money to take control of the state Legislature from the GOP, organizers said.

Earle, an elected Democrat, helped generate $102,000 for the organization.

In his remarks, Earle likened DeLay to a bully and spoke about political corruption and the investigation involving DeLay, the House majority leader from Sugar Land, according to a transcript supplied by Earle.

“This case is not just about Tom DeLay. If it isn’t this Tom DeLay, it’ll be another one, just like one bully replaces the one before,” Earle said.

That last line is very interesting. What does Mr. Earle mean by “another one?” Speaking before a crowd of partisan Democrats, one must assume “another one” means another Republican. Any old Republican will do–you put ’em in office and Earle will prosecute ’em, whether they have done anything wrong or not.

Tell me, Delay accusers, that this prosecution isn’t political now. If it wasn’t before, it surely is now.

It also seems to me that prosecutor Earle has overstepped the bounds of ethics and propriety, and should be investigated. He should not have spoken about a case he is currently litigating as though he had already won it. His comments, floated in the press, could taint prospective jurors. Delay deserves his day in court if it comes to that, not some half-cocked politician armed with the power to prosecute smearing him in a public forum.

This content was used with the permission of Bryan Preston from JunkYardBlog.