Text 15946, 140 rader
Skriven 2005-10-16 17:35:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Delay
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It must suck to be a democrat right now....

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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3397339

Oct. 15, 2005, 12:34AM

DeLay's prosecutors lack a key document
They don't have list of candidates at the heart of the laundering case, just a
'similar' one
By R.G. RATCLIFFE

AUSTIN - Travis County prosecutors admitted Friday they lack physical proof of
a list of Republican candidates that is at the heart of money-laundering
indictments against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and two of his associates.


The list is key to prosecutors being able to prove that corporate money that
could not be legally spent on Texas candidates was specifically exchanged at
the national level for donations that legally could be spent on Republican
candidates for the Texas House.

Indictments against DeLay, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro state that Ellis gave
"a document that contained the names of several candidates for the Texas House"
to a Republican National Committee official in 2002 in a scheme to swap
$190,000 in restricted corporate money for the same amount of money from
individuals that could be legally used by Texas candidates.

But prosecutors said Friday in court that they only had a "similar" list and
not the one allegedly received by then-RNC Deputy Director Terry Nelson. Late
in the day, they released a list of 17 Republican candidates, but only seven
are alleged to have received money in the scheme.

A lawyer for Ellis said prosecutors' inability to produce the list mentioned in
the indictments is on par with the tactics used by U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy in
the communist witch hunts of the 1950s.

"I'll tell you what I think about this list. In the 1950s, a man named McCarthy
claimed to have a list of 200 communists in the State Department, and he
didn't," said J.D. Pauerstein, a lawyer for Jim Ellis, the director of DeLay's
Americans for a Republican Majority. "They (prosecutors) don't know what list
they're talking about, even though they specify it in their indictment."


Nelson's testimony is key
Without the exact list, the prosecutors' case against DeLay, Ellis and
Colyandro likely turns on Nelson's testimony. Nelson testified at least twice
to grand juries hearing the case.

"That would be something Mr. Nelson could testify to, and the jury could weigh
the testimony and decide whether to accept it or whether he's confused about
what list he saw three or four years ago in the midst of a heated election
cycle," Pauerstein said.

Lawyers for Ellis and Colyandro demanded a copy of the list from Travis County
prosecutors during the court hearing Friday. But Assistant District Attorney
Rick Reed told state District Judge Bob Perkins that the list prosecutors
wanted to provide the defense was not the one mentioned in the indictment.

Reed said prosecutors had a list of candidates from the business papers of the
DeLay-founded Texans for a Republican Majority, TRMPAC, that they believe was a
precursor to the one given to Nelson.

"Despite the fact that the state cannot conclusively prove that the said
document is a duplicate (or copy thereof)" of the document given to Nelson, the
"state believes that the document is at least factually related" to the
document mentioned in the indictment, Reed said in a court brief filed after
the hearing.

The list released by prosecutors contained the names of 17 Republican state
House candidates from 2002. Nine of the candidates had dollar amounts listed
next to their names totaling $230,000.

Those nine include the seven candidates who received the contested $190,000 in
donations from the Republican National State Elections Committee, with the
dollar amounts next to their names matching the donations they received.

A lawyer for Colyandro said he was stunned to learn the state does not have a
copy of the list given to Nelson. Colyandro was the executive director of
TRMPAC.

"It's just hard to believe this (list) is central to their indictment," said
Colyandro attorney Joe Turner. "They've had this grand jury investigation for
over three years now, and they don't have a list, and now they've come up with
a document that they say is similar to the list."


'Astonishing, astonishing'
DeLay's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin of Houston, was not present in court Friday. But
he later said the lack of a list "destroys" District Attorney Ronnie Earle's
case against the three men.

"That's astonishing, astonishing that they would get a grand jury to indict and
allege there is a list and then they have to admit in open court the first time
they appear in open court that there is no list," DeGuerin said.

In a civil lawsuit related to the case, RNC election law counsel Charles Spies
testified in March that he knew of no list of Texas candidates being given to
the RNC as part of an alleged money exchange in 2002.

Nelson has referred questions to the RNC, whose spokesman Brian Jones has
declined to comment.

The indictments allege Colyandro had a TRMPAC check for $190,000 drawn from
corporate funds and sent to Ellis, who in turn gave the check to Nelson on
Sept. 13, 2002. The indictment says Ellis gave Nelson a document with candidate
names on it and outlined how they should receive donations "in exchange" for
the TRMPAC corporate money.

Texas law prohibits corporate donations to candidates.

Pauerstein said it was legal for TRMPAC to accept corporate money so long as it
did not donate it to a candidate.

He said there is no state law to prohibit TRMPAC from donating corporate money
to the RNC.

"If they (corporations) want to give them (TRMPAC) $100,000 to set on fire in a
parking lot, that's not illegal. There's no intent for that to be a campaign
contribution," Pauerstein said.


Subpoenas raise criticism
Pauerstein also blasted prosecutors for a new set of subpoenas that he said
includes a request for the 2002 phone records of Ellis' daughter.

"On top of that, they are now subpoenaing cell phone records of Jim Ellis'
17-year-old daughter. This is a prosecution that has run amok. It's time for
this to stop," Pauerstein said. "I guess they think Jim's 17-year-old daughter
is a money launderer. I think it's outrageous that they're doing that to the
young lady."

Earle responded to Pauerstein's comments by saying, "The investigation is
continuing."

r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com

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