Tom Delay's Attorney Blames Tea Party for Jail Sentence (3 Years for Money Laundering)

On January 10, 2011, former Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Tom Delay, was sentenced to three years in jail for his participation in a money laundering conspiracy. Now, his attorney blames the Tea Party, in part, for his conviction.

A grand jury indicted Tom Delay on October 3, 2005, long before the Tea Party came to prominence. He was charged with transferring funds illegally to Republican politicians in the state legislature of Texas, back in 2002. [Source: Tom Delay - Wikipedia. Downloaded 1/10/2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Delay.]

After being convicted in 2010, Tom Delay appeared for sentencing on January 10, 2011. The Court gave him three years incarceration for "conspiracy to launder," while other charges resulted in a probation period of 10 years. Compared to the life sentence he could have received, this seems like a fairly charitable outcome. [Source: "Tom Delay Sentenced to Three Years in Prison," USAToday: OnPolitics blog, downloaded 1/10/2011: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/01/prosecutors-seek-jail-time-for-tom-delay-/1.]

But Tom Delay is not happy with his jail sentence, and has reportedly lashed out at the people he blames for his conviction - primarily the liberal residents of Travis County, Texas, from whom jurors were chosen. Interestingly, though, his attorney also blames the Tea Party for his conviction. DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, explained the Tea Party connection by saying, "We went to trial on the very day people across the country, voters, rebelled against politics." While DeLay presumably does not differ much ideologically from the Tea Party, their inconveniently timed uprising might have irritated liberal jury members, who took their wrath out on Delay. [Source: Stephanie Condon, "Delay: I Was Tried in 'Most Liberal County' in U.S.," CBSNews, downloaded 1/13/2011 at: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20028396-503544.html]

It is difficult to buy Delay's attorney's story. Could an entire jury have been politically biased enough to convict an innocent many because he was a Republican and Tea Party voters were shifting politics to the right? It seems doubtful.

Source

Stephanie Condon, "Delay: I Was Tried in 'Most Liberal County' in U.S.," CBSNews, downloaded 1/13/2011 at: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20028396-503544.html

"Tom Delay Sentenced to Three Years in Prison," USAToday: OnPolitics blog, downloaded 1/10/2011: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/01/prosecutors-seek-jail-time-for-tom-delay-/1.

Tom Delay - Wikipedia. Downloaded 1/10/2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Delay.