DeLay court appearance set for late October

DeLay said everything changed because Democrats put pressure on Earle and the local newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman, wrote an editorial critical of Earle because the majority leader had not been indicted.

The grand jury has indicted three of DeLay’s political associates, a Texas business association, several corporations and TRMPAC.

DeLay said Earle explained the change in thinking by telling DeLay’s lawyers “that he has a runaway grand jury, the sixth grand jury he has impaneled and they’re going to indict me.”

DeLay said the change surprised him, because “we went to work and we were under the impression that he probably wasn’t (going to indict), or he would have ... called me to testify before the grand jury. I have not testified before the grand jury to present my side of the case, and they indicted me.”

DeLay alleges Democratic influence
The former leader also said Earle was working with Democratic leaders in Washington to have him indicted.

“There is very good evidence that they announced the strategy publicly, they put it on their Web site and their strategy is in their fundraising letters,” he said, adding he was referring to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

“The evidence is coming,” he said, but did not immediately offer any.

DeLay, 58, was indicted on a single felony count of conspiring with Jim Ellis and John Colyandro to violate state election law by using corporate donations illegally. Texas law prohibits use of corporate contributions to advocate the election or defeat of candidates.

The Associated Press learned Thursday that one witness before the grand jury was a former political director of the Republican National Committee, Terry Nelson, according to an official familiar with the grand jury deliberations who did not want to be identified speaking about grand jury matters.

The indictment said Nelson received a check for $190,000 in September 2002 that contained corporate donations given to a DeLay-founded Texas political committee. Ellis, the DeLay associate, gave Nelson the check and also the names of Texas state House candidates who were to receive contributions from the donations, according to the indictment.

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