DAN K. THOMASSON Indictment has already damaged Sen. DeLay

WASHINGTON -- It is difficult to be sympathetic to Tom DeLay, the beleaguered and at least temporarily defrocked House Republican leader, whose troubles just multiplied by two. The Texas "Hammer," after all, has shown very little quarter in handing out plenty of political punishment over the last decade as he virtually took control of the lower chamber of Congress.
But the latest indictment against DeLay by a Travis County, Texas, grand jury raises a lot of disturbing questions about the motivation of activist prosecutor Ronnie Earle, a Democrat in a Democratic Party stronghold. In fact, DeLay and his allies seem to have a pretty good case that this affair is simply to get even for DeLay's participation in changing the political landscape in the state capital where Republicans redrew the congressional boundaries in their favor and assumed control for the first time in eons.
No kidding? They did? In the squeaky-clean political atmosphere of Texas?
DeLay was indicted on charges of conspiring to launder $190,000 in illegal corporate contributions to state legislative candidates through a national Republican arm. In some states that isn't a crime. When DeLay's attorneys seemed to have a clear case for dismissal on technical grounds, the prosecutor almost instantly produced without warning a second indictment from a different grand jury involving the same $190,000.
This should prove the old adage that a good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. The jury that handed down the second charge had been empanelled only a relative few minutes before responding to Earle's request. That's hardly enough time to get oriented, let alone hear evidence and listen to witnesses. Even we novices in the arcane world of legal maneuvering can smell something rotten in the courthouse.
Crusades
Earle has been in his job a long time and has been praised by the media for not playing party favorites in his crusades against politicians. Those making the case for his impartiality seem to base their views on one instance when he tried to nail a big-time Democrat a number of years ago. He failed, and the two adversaries became friends. If Earle was trying to save face by bringing the new indictment, it isn't the first time he has been confronted with embarrassment. He indicted Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison after she won her Senate seat, claiming that she had used public employees in her campaign. He ultimately was forced to drop the charges.
No matter the outcome of these indictments, their impact has been enormous on the national scene, relieving Republicans of their major strategist for at least the time being and adding to a list of GOP woes, from the president's bollixed response to Hurricane Katrina to high gas prices to declining support for the war in Iraq. DeLay is the national equivalent of an old-time machine boss with tentacles into nearly everything and with well-placed disciples who owe their success to him.
His close association with one of these acolytes, his former aide and now super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, may be a more serious and substantial threat than the state charges. Abramoff already has been indicted for his activities involving the purchase of gambling boats, and the Justice Department has had a long-standing investigation into his lobbying activities with DeLay and others. As Earle was announcing the new indictment, the department was revealing that it had asked for an interview with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher concerning a visit DeLay paid her while on a trip organized by Abramoff. Was it to discuss real problems or just a courtesy call to legitimize the trip?
Urge for power
The sad note in all this is that it seems to repeat itself regularly, that history is ignored again and again when the urge for power overrides basic ethical instincts and common sense. Those playing the game seem to believe the standards that govern most of us suddenly don't apply to them. DeLay has been a brilliant political manipulator, but at what cost? His hardnosed tactics have made him far more enemies than friends and it will be interesting to see how long those stick with him.
While Earle's pursuit of DeLay may be rooted in political revenge, it is real enough to dislodge him from his high perch indefinitely. Even if these charges don't stick and the probe ends in his favor, it is a good bet that he will never regain the throne that others are already coveting.
X Dan K. Thomasson is former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service.)