HOUSTON — Six days after Rep. Tom DeLay's indictment on conspiracy charges, a new Texas grand jury issued another indictment Monday charging him with the far more serious crime of money-laundering -- a first-degree felony that could bring a lengthy prison term.
Under the internal rules of the Republican Party, the conspiracy indictment had forced the Texas congressman to step down from his position as House majority leader. That charge, a fourth-degree felony punishable by a state prison term of two years, came after a wide-ranging probe into allegations that DeLay and his lieutenants had hijacked Texas elections by illegally funneling corporate money into the bank accounts of Republican state candidates.
DeLay has been defiant ever since, saying the charge was the result of a political vendetta and vowing that he would soon be vindicated and reassume his position as a premier power-broker on Capitol Hill.
But Monday, a second grand jury issued an indictment charging DeLay with conspiracy to commit money-laundering, a second-degree felony, and money-laundering, a first-degree felony.
Combined, the charges could bring a life prison term. Although such stiff punishment is virtually unheard of in cases of political wrongdoing, "this is serious stuff," said University of Texas law professor George E. Dix. "They have obviously upped the ante."
There was considerable disagreement over the meaning and the import of the latest indictment.
The new grand jury was only impaneled at noon on Monday, which means Texas prosecutors were able to persuade its members to issue the more serious charges in a matter of hours.
Craig McDonald, director of the Austin-based Texans for Public Justice -- a group that tries to fight the influence of money in politics -- said the speed of the indictment could be evidence that the case is "pretty cut and dry."
"The crime is simple," he said. "Perhaps the evidence is simple too."
But DeLay called the charges another example of "prosecutorial abuse" on the part of Travis County Dist. Atty. Ronald Earle, who is leading the investigation.
"He is trying to pull the legal equivalent of a 'do-over,' since he knows very well that the charges he brought against me last week are totally manufactured and illegitimate," DeLay said. "This is an abomination of justice."
Earle, a Democrat, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
