Former House majority leader Tom DeLay is sentenced to three years

My admittedly superficial impression remains that this prosecution was politically motivated; and that will continue to be my impression until someone explains to me in understandable language what criminal offense DeLay actually committed, and how his offense is different from routine conduct by politicians which is not prosecuted.

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JC in Houston writes:

This decision is an outrage. Let me just say I’m an attorney familiar with Texas law and politics, and Delay was convicted under a money laundering statute aimed at drug proceeds or money obtained from illegal activities, none of which applies in DeLay’s case. The prison time is the worst outrage. People convicted of stealing the amount of money Delay is accused of diverting many times receive probation. With DeLay’s record of public service three years in the penitentiary is totally uncalled for. DeLay was indicted in Travis County, where Austin, the state capital is located. Unfortunately Austin is atypical of Texas. It is an island of liberalism in a conservative state. DeLay was indicted by a liberal Democratic district Attorney who had tried to convict Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson of BS charges which were thrown out, was convicted by a jury that was overwhelmingly composed of Democrats, and sentenced by a Democratic state judge. Hopefully this conviction will be reversed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (the equivalent of our state supreme court for criminal cases), which has a 9-0 Republican majority. What we have in Texas is the equivalent of Republicans being tried in DC.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 10, 2011 07:50 PM | Send