Take that, Tom DeLay

Just days after Tom DeLay managed to get the original judge in his money-laundering case removed from hearing it, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle retureturned the favor.

Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub recused himself after District Attorney Ronnie Earle filed a motion asking for his removal from the case….

State district Judge Bob Perkins, a Democrat, was removed from DeLayls case Tuesday after DeLay’s legal team cast doubt on Perkins' ability to judge the case fairly because of more than $5,000 in contributions he's made to Democrats.

Earle said in his motion filed Thursday that Schraub has made more than $5,000 in contributions to Republican candidates, including to Gov. Rick Perry, a DeLay ally, which calls into question Schraub's impartiality in the case. …

“Governor Perry was a major figure in the redistricting effort that the (DeLay) successfully argued,” Earle said in his motion. “Because Judge Schraub has donated to Governor Perry, he has disclosed through this free speech that he agrees in principle with Perry's agenda regarding Tom DeLay’s redistricting map.”

Prosecutors also suggest an appearance of Schraub’s political indebtedness to Perry, who appointed him as administrative judge and has authority to reappoint him again in January.

Earle then pinned the tail back on the donkey jackass to whom it belongs.

Still, Earle wrote that prosecutors believe Schraub to be “completely fair and impartial, with a sterling reputation of honesty and integrity.

“However, as the recusal of Judge Perkins reflected, such is unfortunately no longer the standard in our state for the judiciary,” he said.

As I rhetorically asked in my last post on this subject, when are DeLay and mouthpiece Dick DeGuerin going to smarten up?

What could happen is that a long-retired judge will be called up from the bench and will be cranky at having to try this case. If that anger gets pointed at DeLay and DeGuerin (hey, aren’t those both French-sounding names?), watch out.