Before his trial began, Tom DeLay was given the choice of being sentenced by either judge or jury if found guilty. He chose the former. Nearly seven weeks after his conviction, Tom DeLay faced Judge Priest to hear his decision. But before that would happen, Texas law allows for the presentation of additional evidence and/or witnesses during the punishment phase.
Steve Brand of the prosecution team sought to question Peter Cloeren, CEO of Cloeren Incorporated, a plastics company based in Orange, TX, who in 1998 pleaded guilty to charges involving illegal campaign finance. He had funneled Cloeren corporate dollars to Texas House candidate Brian Babin by soliciting "loyal employees" of his company to make personal contributions that would later be reimbursed by the company. He claims he did so on a suggestion by parties including Tom DeLay. However, the House Ethics Committee conducted an investigation into the incident in 1998 and exonerated DeLay of any misdoing. Therefore, Priest was not willing to listen to the witness and he was excused.
His testimony might have been very compelling though. The whole series of events was more complicated than my summation indicates and are much better explained in this story by Lou Dubose and Jan Reid http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2004/10/04/delay.
In an attempt to display DeLay's "general lack of remorse coupled with vindictiveness", Brand played a video of DeLay's reaction to the press immediately after his guilty verdict. "It is what it is," DeLay claimed in the tape. "Maybe we can get it before people who understand the law." Brand characterized the statement as a shot at the jury, a shot at the court, and a shot at us. An equivalent to a "screw you!" to the system. "He needs to go to prison and he needs to go today," Brand concluded.
DeGuerin countered with, "No purpose will be served by sending Tom DeLay to prison. He's lost everything he worked for in his life. We do not accept the jury's verdict as correct. We will challenge it and we have that right."
In Texas, convicted felons are also not allowed to hold public office, vote, or own firearms.
The defense brought in former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a longtime friend of DeLay's, to vouch for his character, religious conviction and conservative values. In Hastert's opinion, DeLay has what it takes to survive in politics — "the three P's: passion, purpose and perspective." I expected one of them to be pompousness.
"Would it be a conservative value to obey the laws of Texas?" asked Cobb during cross-examination. "That's a value of citizenship and not necessarily conservative," responded Hastert. Cobb continued to poke at DeLay's moral compass. "The first step to redemption is admitting you did something wrong," he said. "Have you heard him express any remorse or accept any responsibility for the actions he's been convicted of?" pressed Cobb. Hastert danced around an answer before finally landing on, "no."
Cobb quoted Patrick Henry — "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government — lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."
But then, when the Assistant DA recounted the dates DeLay and his co-conspirators could have met and planned the illegal money swap, DeLay actually turned to him and laughed. Cobb responded sharply, "Yes, that's exactly the way it happened!" He then concluded by requesting "a sentence of no less than 10 years in prison", and suggested that with parole alone DeLay would make himself a martyr wearing thorns like Jesus on the cross.
DeLay opted to speak for himself before sentencing. Since he did not testify during the trial, it would be his first time to address the bench since entering his "not guilty" plea. "I fought the fight, ran the race, kept the faith," he said, leading into a summation of his political career. "In '95 the Democratic leadership, including Nancy Pelosi, announced they would take me down...then the ethics charges started." He explained that he's very passionate about things he believes in and therefore his adversaries often misinterpret what he considers to be just a "Texas cocky" attitude.
DeLay promised not to retry the case during his statement, yet confessed that he's still perplexed by the Travis County DA's tactic of using criminal code to enforce election code. "Money laundering has to start with proceeds from criminal activity. If everyone's done this for years why hasn't someone else stopped them?" he said, clinging to his theory that a vindictive Ronnie Dale Earle simply had it in for Thomas Dale DeLay. "I can't be remorseful for something I don't believe I did. I've raised and spent $10 million for legal fees...fighting the criminalization of politics."
Then it was Priest's turn to speak. "Before there were Democrats and Republicans, there was America." He went on to explain that those who are entrusted to make our laws must also be bound by them, and he did not agree with DeLay's claim of an unjust indictment for his actions. He recalled the testimony of RNC leadership who himself could not recall a money exchange similar to that with the Texas Seven. And finally, he told DeLay that he agreed with the jury's verdict.
With that, he sentenced the former Congressman to five years in prison for the money laundering charge (immediately probated to 10 years of community supervision, a/k/a/ probation) and three years in prison for the conspiracy charge, to be served concurrently. He used many more words than that, though, and for several minutes it was unclear how the sentence was to play out.
Reporters huddled in groups to compare notes and verify facts before disseminating the news. Mrs. DeLay and her daughter Dani sobbed. Sheriffs escorted DeLay away for processing. DeGuerin shouted for an appeal. His client would be released on a $20,000 appeal bond the same day. Moments later Priest ordered the courtroom to be cleared.
In the hallway, current Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg was telling TV cameras that she was extremely proud of her team. When asked if the sentence sends a message to other politicians she replied, "It absolutely does."
As the crowd poured into the hallway the buzz was about the implications of the sentence. Some anticipated probation alone; other had hoped for something more strict. "Was he handcuffed?" several asked, "I couldn't see." All, however, were expecting to catch a glimpse of DeLay as he left the courtroom. The Travis County jail is located adjacent to the courthouse; word spread of a tunnel connecting the two. DeLay was probably already out of the building.
Moments later DeGuerin worked his way through the crowd. The TV crews reconvened in his path. When asked for his thoughts DeGuerin responsed, if I told you what I thought I'd be sued. This will not stand." And with that, he pushed forward.
Is he right? Time will tell as DeLay's appeal works its way through the system. It was a long uphill battle for both sides. His alleged co-conspirators, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, will face their own trial in April. Judge Priest will hear that case as well. The story is far from over, but it's been a fascinating glimpse into the real world of politics and justice in our country.
