Breaking News!! Remaining Texas Charges Against Tom DeLay Are Likely To Be Dismissed

Apparently nobody in the press has figured it out yet, but the remaining portion of the Texas Indictment against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will almost certainly be thrown out before long. The Texas Court of Appeals Third District’s Friday opinion upholding the constitutionality of charges brought against James Ellis and John Colyandro is in reality a complete victory for DeLay. A portion of the Court’s opinion rejects Ellis’ and Colyandro’s vagueness challenge to money laundering charges. The very same money laundering charges were brought against DeLay. This looks like a defeat for DeLay, right? Wrong! The Court held that that the Texas money laundering statute in effect at the time of the alleged crime was not vague because it clearly did not apply to anything other than cash or cash equivalents. In other words, the statute did not apply, and could not be applied, to checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders. This has long been obvious to anybody familiar with the statute, which was not amended until 2005 to cover checks. It should have been obvious to Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle as well. Why does this help DeLay, as well as Ellis and Colyandro? Because their alleged acts of money laundering involved checks, not cash. They were indicted for acts that were not crimes at the time they allegedly committed them. It looks like DeLay’s long nightmare, and his abuse by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, is about to end. Assuming that the Court’s opinion is upheld by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, as it surely will be, the district judge handling DeLay’s case will be forced to dismiss the remainder of the Indictment.