DeLay’s lawyer rules out seeking pardon from Bush

Tom DeLay’s legal advisers are ruling out seeking a presidential pardon for the embattled former House majority leader.

DeLay (R-Texas), who declined to comment for this article, resigned from Congress more than two years ago after being indicted, and remains embroiled in legal proceedings in Texas and Washington.

{mosads}With Bush’s second term winding down, DeLay is the most prominent politician and Bush ally who could benefit from presidential clemency.

But Richard Cullen, who is representing DeLay in the federal investigation against him, said there should be no question of a pardon.

“I would rule it out,” he said. “No one has suggested that Mr. DeLay is guilty of a crime. He has stated clearly that he has not committed a crime.”

Pardons loom large in the waning months of any presidency, and DeLay’s case could be especially salient because his legal travails have already cost more than a million dollars in legal fees, with no end in sight.

At least one other former Republican lawmaker, Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (Calif.), has petitioned for a presidential pardon, according to the Justice Department.

DeLay was one of Bush’s most effective partners in Congress during the first six years of his administration, helping the president pass his biggest legislative achievements, including the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and the Medicare prescription drug bill.

Legal experts say a person does not need to request a pardon to receive one from the president.

Margaret Colgate Love, the U.S. pardon attorney from 1990 to 1997, said: “Historically, most people who have been pardoned have asked to be pardoned, but there have been exceptions.”

Love said President Clinton commuted the sentences of Puerto Rican nationalists without receiving requests.

“I understand there were a number of people who were the beneficiaries of final grants who didn’t ask.”

President Clinton also pardoned former Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) for mail fraud even though the ex-lawmaker did not solicit clemency, according to a media report at the time.

Bush could only grant DeLay amnesty from possible federal charges.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) would have the power to halt DeLay’s prosecution on state money-laundering charges.

DeLay’s lawyer in Texas, Dick DeGuerin, said he would “love for him to do that” but emphasized that DeLay has not asked for a pardon.

“Usually a pardon is for someone who has done something wrong,” said DeGuerin. “Tom DeLay didn’t do anything wrong.”

DeGuerin also said that DeLay was told by the Justice Department that he is not a target of its investigation, but that cannot be confirmed. Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) made the same assertion before he pleaded guilty to corruption charges two years ago.

DeLay’s allies say Bush and Perry should avoid pardoning the former GOP leader even though legal action against him has dragged on for years without resolution.

{mospagebreak}“I don’t think the president should issue anything or decide anything,” said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who was close to DeLay during his tenure as leader.

Presidents usually pardon people convicted of federal crimes, but they also have the power to grant clemency before formal charges are brought.

President Ford pardoned former President Nixon without a pending indictment.

Sessions and other DeLay allies said the regular legal process should be allowed to run its course in DeLay’s case.

{mosads}Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), who won his seat in 2004 after DeLay helped redraw congressional district boundaries, said, “Any act would be spun by the left.

“I think the Democrats would spin it to their advantage and continue to rape and pillage Tom DeLay’s reputation,” Conaway said.

In addition to a money-laundering charge DeLay faces in Texas, he is involved in a federal probe in Washington related to his relationship with former lobbyist Ed Buckham. Those cases have stretched out for years and cost DeLay hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills.

During the first six months of 2006, the most recent period for which public records are available, DeLay spent $305,000 on lawyers from his legal defense fund. He also spent more than $700,000 on legal fees in 2006 from his personal campaign account.

DeLay’s lawyers argued before a Texas appellate court in the summer of 2006 for the dismissal of money-laundering charges. Two years later, however, the court has yet to rule, perplexing DeLay’s lawyers who vowed a quick resolution.

DeLay and his wife, Christine, have also been involved in a long-running FBI investigation scrutinizing several years of income Christine received from two organizations affiliated with Buckham.

The White House declined to comment for this article.

DeLay told The Hill in May 2007 that the federal probe had “run amok” and that prosecutors should bring charges or drop the case. Justice Department officials still have not brought charges or exonerated DeLay more than a year later.

Some Republicans argue DeLay became the target of indictments and ethics complaints because he played such an important role in building and exercising Republican power.

Presidents have rarely pardoned former lawmakers. Historians in the House and Senate could find only a few examples.

President Johnson pardoned former Rep. Frank Boykin (D-Ala.) in 1965 for attempting to influence the Justice Department, according to the Office of the House Historian.

President Truman pardoned former Rep. Andrew Jackson May (D-Ky.) in 1952 of a bribery conviction, said Senate associate historian Donald Ritchie.

Sessions said clemency from Perry or Bush could create a strong political backlash, claiming that while the money-laundering charges filed against DeLay were driven by partisan Democratic motives, a pardon “is political, too, and would be seen in a political year the wrong way.”

Sessions added that Perry should, however, consider urging a Texas appellate court to issue a ruling on whether DeLay should face trial.

A lower court threw out a second charge — that DeLay conspired to violate election law — but allowed the money-laundering charge to stand.

If DeLay sought a pardon in Texas, he would have to appeal to Perry because Bush does not have the power to grant clemency in state cases. Bush, however, could pardon DeLay from a possible prosecution on corruption charges.

One DeLay ally said Perry should at least consider a pardon. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), who won election to Congress after DeLay helped redraw congressional district lines, said Perry should review the case and the possibility of a pardon.

“The governor should look at the facts of the case,” said Neugebauer. “One of the things that needs to be reviewed is why it’s taken three years and Mr. DeLay still hasn’t had a trial on his case.”

David Matthews contributed to this report.