DeLay’s Lawyer Says He Should Be Cleared Because Laundering Involved Checks, Not Cash
Vince Leibowitz | Aug 26, 2008 | Comments 0
[UPDATED: We've obtained a copy of the opinion, which can be found here.]
This should come, I suppose, as no surprise:
The attorney for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay predicts money laundering charges against his client would eventually be dismissed because the indictment is based on statutes that were not in place when the alleged conduct happened.
Dick DeGuerin said DeLay cannot be convicted because a 3rd Court of Appeals’ opinion on Friday said the law applied to cash, not checks, when the alleged laundering of corporate campaign donations occurred.
In Friday’s lengthy opinion, the appeals court said that checks were not covered by the money laundering statute prior to 2005, when the Legislature defined “funds” to include checks, money orders, and electronic funds.
I’ve got to quarrel with this 3rd Court opinion, although I’ve been unable to obtain a copy of it to review it in detail. To me, the legislature’s actions in 2005 simply clarified the definition of “funds.” I don’t think any reasonable person could construe that, in the original statute, the Legislature actually intended people to be able to launder anything except cash for political purposes.
You can read more on the 3rd COA’s opinion here. We’ll post a copy when we obtain it.
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