DeLay lawyers want new judge

AUSTIN, Texas — Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, appeared in court for the first time yesterday to answer the money-laundering and conspiracy charges against him, but the presiding judge quickly adjourned the proceedings after DeLay's lawyers accused him of bias and asked him to withdraw.

DeLay did not speak during the session, which lasted about five minutes, in which his attorneys posted a bond for his appearance and explained the grounds for alleging that the judge's record of campaign contributions to Democrats and liberal organizations demonstrated "a personal bias" against DeLay.

Afterward, DeLay said on the nearby state Capitol grounds that he committed no wrongdoing and expects to be exonerated. Referring to the 2002 state election campaign at the center of the investigation that gave rise to two indictments against him, DeLay said: "I have been charged for defeating Democrats. I have been charged for advancing the Republican agenda."

District Judge Bob Perkins, an elected Democrat in Democratic Travis County, expressed concern in court that allegations of bias are arising in the county whenever a Republican is on trial. But he said the issue of who presides over DeLay's trial should be decided by the region's chief administrative judge, an appointed Republican.

The session marked a shift to the courts of a local prosecutor's two-year investigations of actions taken by DeLay and his political associates before the 2002 state election, when Republicans gained control of the Texas House for the first time in 130 years.

DeLay was indicted on Sept. 28 and Oct. 3 for allegedly conspiring to inject illegal corporate funds into that 2002 campaign, and for allegedly laundering some of those funds through an arm of the Republican Party in Washington to conceal their corporate origin.

DeLay has said he is eager for a quick trial to prove his innocence. But many lawyers predict the motions filed by his legal team this week — to force Perkins' withdrawal and to move the trial elsewhere in Texas, away from Austin, a Democratic bastion — may put it on a slower track.

The lead prosecutor, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, is fighting both requests. In a written statement, Earle said that "the logic behind the defendant's motion to recuse Judge Perkins would mean that no criminal defendant could be tried in a court presided over by a judge who did not belong to the defendant's political party."

DeLay's lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, claimed that Perkins' bias was evident in his contribution of $5,485 to Democratic campaigns since 2000, including a $200 donation in September to MoveOn.org and $400 in donations to the Democratic National Committee in October. He said the former group had used anti-DeLay messages to solicit funds.

Perkins said his contribution to MoveOn.org was intended to benefit John Kerry's presidential campaign. The judge who will decide the matter, B.B. Schraub, has made donations to national and local Republican candidates, according to public records.