AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Rep. Tom DeLay appeared in court Tuesday before a new judge as his legal team tried to get the conspiracy charges against him dropped without a trial. DeLay wants the charges dismissed or resolved in his favor by January or lawmakers could elect a new House majority leader. Under House rules, he was forced to give up his post after he was charged in September with a felony but he could regain it if he is cleared before Congress returns to session early next year.
DeLay declined to talk to reporters as he entered the courtroom with his wife.
The hearing is DeLay's first before Senior Judge Pat Priest, who was appointed to the case after DeLay's attorneys succeeded in having the first judge removed because of his campaign contributions to Democratic candidates and causes. It is also the first time DeLay has appeared with his co-defendants.
He and Republican fundraisers John Colyandro and Jim Ellis are accused of operating a 2002 campaign finance scheme that prosecutors say funneled $190,000 in restricted corporate money to Texas House candidates in violation of state law.
DeLay is accused of sending the money to an arm of the Republican National Committee, which then gave the same amount of money to Texas legislative candidates. The direct use of corporate money for political purposes is illegal in Texas.
DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, has filed multiple legal briefs detailing why he believes the charges against the lawmaker should be dismissed.
The defense contends, for example, that DeLay shouldn't be charged with conspiracy to violate the election code because the law wasn't on the books until 2003, a year after DeLay's alleged offenses occurred.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has said state law has long defined conspiracy as an agreement to commit any felony, including a violation of the election code.
DeLay's attorneys also want to have the trial moved from liberal- leaning Austin, where they say he cannot get a fair trial, to his home county of Fort Bend. But that issue likely won't be decided until a later hearing.
