Another CONVICTED RATpubliCON getting off with a slap on the wrist

[FreakinDJ]

Hammered: What Punishment Will Tom DeLay Get?

By HILARY HYLTON / AUSTIN Hilary Hylton / Austin – Thu Nov 25, 3:15 am ET

Five years and a month ago, Tom DeLay, who was once House Majority leader, set the standard for jailhouse mug shots. Smiling widely, with a twinkle in his eye, he held a metal sign: "10-20-05, Thomas Dale DeLay, Money Laundering." Now, 1,861 days later, after an epic legal struggle, a retreat from Washington back to his constituency of Sugar Land, Texas, after one cha-cha in a leopard print vest on Season Nine of Dancing with the Stars - plus a stiff waltz, a fumbled tango and a hobbled samba - the smiling former Texas congressman, the man they called "The Hammer," has been found guilty as charged.

Much is being made of the possible punishment - one to 99 years in state prison on the money laundering charge, two to 20 on a conspiracy charge. But presiding Judge Pat Priest, a semi-retired special appointee who added to the musical theme by listening to Rodgers and Hammerstein show tunes as the jury deliberated, could very well give the fallen politician probation. Sentencing will begin on Dec. 20; and, so far, prosecutors have not specified how much jail time they will demand, only that the case was a "message from the people of Texas" who want "honesty and ethics" in their public officials, according to District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. (See the top 10 worst Dancing with the Stars contestants.)

After almost 20 hours of deliberations that at several points appeared to be off track, an Austin jury found DeLay guilty of moving $190,000 in corporate donations through the Republican National Committee to a political action committee aimed at aiding GOP state legislative candidates. That push was allegedly part of DeLay's effort - a successful one - to control the congressional redistricting process. (Why Texas put Tom DeLay on trial.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20101125/us_time/08599203319200

[WinkyDink]

1. Probation is where my money is.

[slackmaster]

2. The presiding judge is Marilyn Munster?

[SoCalNative]

3. Why is listening to R&H

a precursor to light sentencing?

I listen to showtunes almost exclusively, and if I were the judge, I'd sentence DeLay to life in prison at hard labor.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. I will be very surprised if DeLay serves any time at all. My bet is he'll get probation.

[Uben]

5. I'm okay with no prison time......

...if he is sentenced to thirty years community service....in the city he was convicted in...working for the public works division.....picking up trash and wearing an orange jump suit.....7 days a week!




edit: with only bread and water, but never both on the same day!

[ColesCountyDem]

6. Ok, do we have any factual basis for believing that Delay won't get prison time? n/t

[whistler162]

7. Facts we don't need no stinking facts.......

[Scruffy1]

8. I'm betting on a "heart attack" a la Ken Lay.

Dead men tell no tales. It has been my experience that checks are just part of the boodle in Texas politics-cash is much harder to trace.