A little info about Ronnie Earle...

[txaslftist]

..
Some things you ought to know about Ronnie. First of all, since he got installed as the Austin prosecutor going after political corruption, he's indicted about twice as many Democrats as he has indicted Republicans.

He's been voted Texas' prosecutor of the year and the public administrator of the year for Austin. His office has been listed as among the top ten model offices in the nation by the National District Attorney's Association.

The Harvard professor who wrote "Broken Windows", the study that helped Giuliani clean up New York called his office "one of the most thoroughly problem-oriented agencies in criminal justice today".

Bill O'Reilly once singled him out for "innovative approaches to law enforcement".

He is not a crackpot and he's not partisan. He's highly respected and he's a force to be reckoned with.

Delay is in deep shit. DEEP SHIT.

[Greeby]

1. Great quote from the man, responding to DeLay

"Being called vindictive and patrisan by Tom DeLay is like being called ugly by a frog!" :D

[Field Of Dreams]

13. Yes, 12 Democrats and 4 Republicans according to

reporter now on NPR.

[FrenchieCat]

15. Details!

PHOTO OF RONNIE EARLE

NOTE DATE ON STORY BELOW....

DeLay's first line of defense will be to scream that the Democrat Earle is on a partisan witch hunt. Earle's unsuccessful prosecution of Kay Bailey Hutchison in 1994 for allegations of misappropriated campaign funds while she was State Treasurer will be his Exhibit A, and it will carry some weight. Earle will point out that he's prosecuted quite a few Democratic politicians in his day, with his biggest scalp being that of former Speaker Gib Lewis. I will expect much sound and fury, with the usual results. But I'll keep an eye on it anyway, just in case.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 22, 2003 to Scandalized! | TrackBack
http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/001715.html

Here we go--List of PARTISAN :sarcasm: EARLE'S VICTIMS:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_11/005190.php

"• Former state Rep. Gilbert Serna, D-El Paso. Pleaded guilty to charges of theft by a public servant in 2000.

• Former state Rep. Lane Denton, D-Waco. Found guilty of theft in 1995.

• State Rep. Betty Denton, D-Waco, pleaded guilty in 1995 to perjury charges.

• Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican, indicted on a charge of official misconduct. Earle in 1994 declined to present a case at trial. Hutchison received a directed verdict of acquittal.

• Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, Democrat, investigated in 1992 for political misuse of his agency for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. Earle found no "conscious pattern of misuse of state property for political or personal purposes."

• Speaker Gib Lewis, D-Fort Worth. Pleaded guilty in 1992 of misdemeanor filing of false financial statements. Lewis in 1983 also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor failure to file a financial statement.

• San Antonio voter registrar Marco Gomez, Democrat, pleaded guilty in 1992 to tampering with a government record.

• State Rep. Charles Staniswallis, R-Amarillo, pleaded guilty to felony theft in 1990.

• Attorney General Jim Mattox, Democrat, found innocent by a jury in 1983 on charges of commercial bribery.

• Texas Treasurer Warren G. Harding, Democrat, pleaded guilty in 1982 to misdemeanor official misconduct.

• State Rep. Mike Martin, R-Longview. Pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge in 1981 for having lied about arranging to have himself shot to generate publicity.

• State Sen. Gene Jones, D-Houston, pleaded guilty in 1980 to a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct for using a state computer for political purposes.

• Travis County Commissioner Bob Honts, a Democrat who later switched parties, pleaded guilty in 1979 to misdemeanor misapplication of county property."

[Field Of Dreams]

17. Thanks Frenchie!

eom

[spindoctor]

32. What's his track record? It sounds like he is 10 for 10. nt

[Pirate Smile]

39. His case against Kay Bailey Hutchison got thrown out by a judge.

At least that is what they have been reporting today and using as ammo against him.

edit to add the details on this one from above - "Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican, indicted on a charge of official misconduct. Earle in 1994 declined to present a case at trial. Hutchison received a directed verdict of acquittal."

This is the one the Republicans keep citing. Do we have any details re this one to argue back at them?

[Flying Dream Blues]

28. All the funnier for being true, and b/c DeLay looks like a frog...

[cantstandbush]

41. Is this why Tweety is smearing him so hard?

DeLay might really go to jail? If there are any folks out there who have really be hurt by DeLay now is the time to surface and blow the whistle. You should always kick a man when he is down...it just doesn't make sense to let him get up again. That's the Republican way and they are good at it. It's time for us to use what we have seen work so well.

[Bluzmann57]

2. "He's not a crackpot and he's not partisan"

Until right now that is. I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that the right wing talking heads are cranking up the talking points for one of their boys even as we speak and that will be one of the talking points. "He's a partisan hack". "It's a partisan witch hunt". Something along those lines. Take it to the bank.

[txaslftist]

9. You don't know Texans like Earle.

He's an example of the finest traditions of the Lone Star State. He'll take on anyone with absolutely no fear, so long as he thinks he's in the right. He'd charge Hell with a bucket of water.

Tom Delay is in serious shit because Ronnie Earle is one of those fellows who believes that nothing can stop a man who is in the right and keeps on coming.

Don't think Delay ought to be scared of Ronnie Earle? Check out "Who the Hell is Ronnie Earle" in the March 2005 edition of Esquire Magazine.

Ronnie Earle is Lancelot in a cowboy hat, and Delay is just another black knight.

[txindy]

12. I agree with every point you've made.

Bug Man is in serious sh*t with Ronnie Earle coming after him. Earle doesn't make mistakes. Poor, poor Tom-Tom. :evilgrin:

[etherealtruth]

3. I get the impression his goal is to "clean up" politics ...

... wherever (or whatever the poltical affiliation of)the filth (corruption) is found.

[etherealtruth]

4. Sorry, duplicate

[napi21]

5. I've heard great things about Earl and Fitzgerald. Neither are

political hacks like they're being accused of.

I agree DeLay is in DS, and I'm looking forward to many indictments being announced from Fitz's GJ within a week.

[GOPisEvil]

6. Psst...that's Earle, with an "e" on the end.

But you're right - Tom's in deep, deep doo-doo.

[bleedingheart]

7. I also think that the indictment would not have proceeded unless

he had enough to seal Delay's coffin shut....

[txaslftist]

11. From Esquire:

Over and over, Earle saw Tom Delay's fingerprints. Delay was the man who pioneered modern political fundraising through a giant money machine...run by the same former Delay staff member who ran TRMPAC...

Delay was the first to weave together a network of PACs and consulting companies, making it possible for him to raise more than forty times what the average congressman could raise...

So Philip Morris and R.J.Reynolds give him hundreds of thousands and he helps other Republican Congressmen get elected and then they team up against higher tobacco taxes -always saying its just a coincidence, we just happen to believe in lower taxes, no bribes here...

(last summer) ...Just before the election, TRMPAC gave a Republican member of the Texas House, Tom Craddick, $152,000.00 to distribute to the Republican candidates -a brazen violation of the law...

...around the same time TRMPAC sent a check for $190,000.00 in corporate money to the Republican National Committee, and three weeks later the RNC sent back a series of checks worth exactly $190,000.00 -which looked a lot like money laundering...

Earle started comparing the case to a circus act - every time he looked at the Volkswagen, another clown came out...

[Theres-a]

18. Everytime he looked at the volkswagen another clown came out

BWAHAHA!

[KittyWampus]

33. RJ Reynold Was Laundering Money In Iraq- they were caught

[stillcool]

8. i am going to think.....

...just for today, that the varied investigations and indictments are going to intersect and turn this government on its ass.

[Flying Dream Blues]

29. From your lips to God's ears... nt

[onenote]

10. the repugs have been going after earle for awhile - lots of lies

Here's just one instance, selected from media matters http://mediamatters.org/items/200411180003


JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO (author and FOX News Channel senior judicial analyst): Tom DeLay's associates, people that have worked for him, and some who still do work for him, have all been indicted by a sort of renegade prosecutor in Texas, who has made it known that Tom DeLay is in his crosshairs. ...

JOHN GIBSON (host): OK, but now tell me about this prosecutor. You said quasi-renegade.

NAPOLITANO: I was being polite when I said quasi-renegade. The Republican leadership today called him a political crackpot. And there is a basis for calling him that.

[Fleshdancer]

14. The man is thorough and doesn't give a shit about politics

I wouldn't want to be on his radar screen, that's for sure. The crap has been piling up on Delay for YEARS and the Republicans are fooling themselves by thinking this is a small, insignificant problem. In fact, I like that freepers are in denial and I hope they stay that way...it will sting that much more.

[txaslftist]

21. Ronnie said that when he looked at all the folks involved...

...in Delay's shenanigans, it started to look like every other organized crime chart he'd ever seen. Some of the names were even the same...

Ronnie is seriously probably going to get a conviction on this one, especially if the trial is in Austin. I'll be interested in seeing who else gets indicted. Our local congressman Neugebauer, took money from TRMPAC, as did most of the Republicans coming from this state.

I'm helping to put together his challenger's campaign, and every day we seem to get good news. Today was the winner, though.

[Fleshdancer]

24. and the part I'm VERY interested in learning more about...

is that the RNC was used for money laundering. Granted it's illegal for corporations to donate to TX legislation races, but the RNC as a money laundering outfit? That's intense. The Sopranos would be proud.

[zorro349]

16. list of indictments

Politicians investigated by Earle....

Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough (Democrat - 1978)
Texas State Rep. Mike Martin (Republican - 1982)
State Treasurer Warren Harding (Democrat - 1982)
Attorney General Jim Mattox (Democrat - 1985)
House Speaker Gib Lewis (Democrat - 1992)
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican - 1994)
Former state Rep. Betty Denton (Democrat - 1995)
Former state Rep. Lane Denton (Democrat - 1995)
Jack Abramoff (Republican-2002?)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Earle"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Earle

[LSK]

19. freepers are smearing him with this on yahoo:

"This purely political investigation has been marked by illegal grand jury leaks, a fundraising speech by Ronnie Earle for Texas Democrats that inappropriately focused on the investigation, misuse of his office for partisan purposes, and extortion of money for Earle's pet projects from corporations in exchange for dismissing indictments he brought against them. Ronnie Earle's previous misuse of his office has resulted in failed prosecutions and we trust his partisan grandstanding will strike out again, as it should.

Ronnie Earle's 1994 indictment against Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was quickly dismissed and his charges in the 1980s against former Attorney General Jim Mattox-another political foe of Earle-fell apart at trial.

We regret the people of Texas will once again have their taxpayer dollars wasted on Ronnie Earle's pursuit of headlines and political paybacks. Ronnie Earle began this investigation in 2002, after the Democrat Party lost the Texas state legislature to Republicans. For three years and through numerous grand juries, Ronnie Earle has tried to manufacture charges against Republicans involved in winning those elections using arcane statutes never before utilized in a case in the state. This indictment is nothing more than prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat.""

[noonwitch]

23. Yahoo today, O'Reilly tonight. I'm guessing the smearing will continue

through O'Reilly and onto Hannity.

[txaslftist]

27. I hope someone will confront O'lielly with his own endorsement

of Ronnie Earle.

[LSK]

30. got any more details about this? n/t

[txaslftist]

31. Just what I read in Esquire and posted up above somewhere.

I assume Esquire knows what they are doing. Do I assume too much?

[txaslftist]

35. Yeah... too bad they can't claim the $190,000 check is a forgery.

They done spent it.

[KingFlorez]

20. He's just a kick butt prosecutor

I don't see any partisanship behind this

[GOPAgainstGW]

22. It's a Weak Charge Against DeLay Unfortunately .........

and not the charges Earle wanted. But it beat nothing. DeLays two buddies indicted are looking at 99 years each. Hoping to roll them to get more on Tommy Boy for later.

Excellent Background & Current Articles DB on DeLay & TRMPAC Indictments

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4913847

[KharmaTrain]

25. Is There A Link To That O'Reilly Quote???

If so, keep it very, very handy. Might be needed to smash Mr. No Spin Brains; who is sure to read the Rove/Ailes script on this one.

[txaslftist]

26. I got it from ESQUIRE, March 2005. Paper edition.

[KittyWampus]

34. txaslfst, can you tell if there will be a trial? Maybe more stuff would co

come out during a trial?

[txaslftist]

36. I've got a hunch there won't be a trial.

Check out my other post in the "Greatest" section (gwarsh, I'm so proud). I think there's already some sort of deal in the making, although I could be wrong.

I wouldn't want to try this against Ronnie Earle, especially since there's a $190,000.00 check just a sittin' there in the indictment.

Hard to pretend that didn't happen, and hard to pretend you didn't know where that much money came from.

[NMDemDist2]

37. I was honored to give this nom. #5 and a big KICK n/t

[sonias]

38. kicking it for Ronnie Earle

He's doing a fine job. He's stuck with this case and given it a full investigation. May not be the case Ronnie would like to bring, but a grand jury understood the case well enough to indict. There is more than scant evidence Tom, there's $190,000 worth of evidence.

Deep, deep "brownie, you're doing a heck of job" kind of shit.

Sonia

[Donailin]

40. Smiling

I can't stop smiling. I'm spreading it around!

:hi: