DeLay's New Defense: 'I Mispoke'
Tom DeLay may have the best lawyer around, but he's shooting himself in the foot. He needs to stay off the airwaves. The latest:
In his radio comments on Tuesday, Mr. DeLay offered a new insight on the case, saying he made a mistake in a voluntary interview with the prosecutor's office a few weeks ago that helped prompt the indictments.
He would not discuss his mistake in detail, but it apparently concerned the $190,000 check that is central to the case. Mr. Earle charges that the money, which included money from corporate interests in Texas, was turned over to the Republican National Committee with instructions to return $190,000 to designated candidates for the Texas Legislature. The accusation is that the transaction was intended to circumvent a prohibition on the use of corporate money in state races.
"I misspoke one sentence, and they have based all of this on one sentence," Mr. DeLay told Mr. Limbaugh. "They think that before the check was cut and sent to the national committee that I approved this check. I didn't know this went on until well after it happened."
DeLay had his pre-DeGeurin lawyer with him when he went in for his voluntary interview. If DeLay mis-spoke, wouldn't his lawyer have interjected and either asked him if he was sure about that answer or asked for a break to speak to his client - or even contradicted his client and told him he misspoke? Every lawyer I know who's been through a debriefing would have done that.
Clearly, DeLay's lawyer didn't go into the interview not knowing DeLay's position on the very matter at issue.
Advice for Mr. DeLay: You have a great lawyer. Let him speak for you. That's part of why you're paying him the big bucks.
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