This is the original post, read below for the whole story:
Tom DeLay thinks he is above the law. Now, I’m not going to jump to any conclusions on DeLay’s guilt (innocent until proven guilty, after all) but on what grounds does he think he can demand his case to be expedited? Well, maybe it’s just the all-republican appeals court down there in Texas that has his hopes up. Why does DeLay think his is more important than a regular citizen?
The state’s highest criminal court has agreed to hear Tom DeLay’s latest request for a quick resolution to money laundering charges that forced him to give up his leadership post in the U.S. House, his spokesman said Tuesday.
The all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that both sides have a week to submit arguments, DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said in an e-mail. DeLay’s attorneys asked the court either to dismiss money laundering charges or to order a lower court to try him immediately. (source: Star Tribune)
Update:
Well, I jumped too quickly on this one. Apparently this story, as widely reported as it was, was erroneous. This from the San Antonio Express News:
Justices for the Texas Court Criminal Appeals agreed merely to consider hearing DeLay’s money laundering case. They never said they would accept the case, said Edward Marty, the court’s general counsel.
The erroneous media reports, which the San Antonio Express-News published in a wire story and displayed online, come from DeLay’s spokesman, Kevin Madden, in an e-mail sent to reporters Tuesday evening, after courts had closed for the night.
“FYI-Breaking news out of Austin, TX,” the e-mail stated. “The state Court of Criminal Appeals has agreed to hear Mr. DeLay’s habeas motion that was filed at the end of last week. The court has set a one-week deadline for briefs to be filed by the parties involved. The court could essentially decide to end Ronnie Earle’s prosecution after hearing this motion and the facts presented.”
This is the lone report to the contrary that I could find, making it somewhat suspect, but upon further investigation it seems as though this is, indeed, the correct story. I should know better by now than to trust the Star Tribune’s reporting. Thank you to the MN Publius readers who noted the mistake.
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