DeLay wins a skirmish

Dick DeGuerin earned Tom DeLay’s hard-laundered won money by getting State District Judge Bob Perkins removed from trying DeLay’s money-laundering case.

In Texas, judges must run for office in partisan elections and are free to donate to political candidates and causes. Perkins is a Democrat, as are all but one of the district judges in Travis County, where Austin is located.

DeGuerin also has asked for a change of venue to move the case to another county, but that has not been ruled on. …

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who has led the investigation against DeLay, argued that Perkins should be allowed to stay on the case and disagreed that the case is political.

"This is not a political case. This is a criminal case in which Mr DeLay stands charged with a felony," he said.

"There is no basis, no precedent for recusal based on a judge's political contributions," said Earle, who is a Democrat. …

Earle said the several thousand dollars Perkins had given Democrats over the years was "paltry" in comparison to how much money DeLay has raised and in some cases, used in "intimidating judges with whom he disagreed."

To my mind, the only good thing to see in this is that the change of venue request was not discussed. Since the great majority of Texas judges are Republicans, and many of those active ones, the idea that a regional administrator, whomever this is — somebody from the Court of Criminal Appeals? —is likely to have at least some degree of GOP leanings.

Besides, it could set bad precedent in this case. That will only come true, though, if the change of venue is also granted.