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One other thing about Mr. Earle that I think is particularly relevant - note the part I put in bold as particularly telling:
Self-inflicted wound (Ronnie Earle investigates Tom DeLay and fund raises using DeLay)
Houston Chronicle ^ | May 20, 2005 | Editorial
District attorney's poor judgment in speaking at a Democratic fund-raiser provides an unintended boost for DeLay's defenders.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has spent the past year investigating corporate funds collected by political action committees connected to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. So far, a grand jury has indicted three of the Sugar Land representative's associates for violating Texas election laws.
Republicans have accused the veteran prosecutor, a Democrat, of conducting a partisan witch hunt. Earle's attendance and remarks attacking DeLay at a Democratic fund-raiser last week in Dallas damaged the credibility of his investigation with a stunning display of prosecutorial impropriety.
Earle was the speaker at a May 12 event sponsored by the newly created Texas Values in Action Coalition, a Democratic political action committee with the stated goal of winning back control of the Texas Legislature. The affair raised more than $100,000, and organizers credited Earle's presence with boosting attendance.
In his speech, the prosecutor talked about the corporate contribution case and took a swipe at DeLay. "This case is not just about Tom DeLay," Earle told the crowd. "If it isn't this Tom DeLay, it'll be another one, just like one bully replaces the one before."
Contacted after the event by the Chronicle's Michael Hedges, Earle didn't back off his comments. He provided a transcript of the speech, and said he would make the same statements again to any group that was interested in honest government.
Houston defense attorney Rusty Hardin represents Warren RoBold, a Republican fund-raiser indicted in the Travis County investigation. Hardin, a former Harris County prosecutor, finds it "incomprehensible" that Earle would go to a political event and discuss matters under investigation by his office. "I'm dumbfounded that he would give the DeLay people that kind of fodder."
Hardin doesn't believe that Earle's investigation is motivated by a bias against Republicans. Instead, he contends that the Austin-area district attorney goes after targets for behavior he finds objectionable, whether or not an actual violation of law occurred.
According to Hardin, he told Earle in a courtroom conversation that "you have a history of indicting people whose conduct you don't approve of and you want to stop. You leave it to your assistants to worry whether there's a criminal case involved."
Earle is an elected Democrat, so his attending a party fund-raiser is legal. However, it is inappropriate for a prosecutor to discuss a case under investigation in a political setting, or to single out a potential target of that probe for criticism.
The fact that Earle refuses to recognize his blunder and would do it again calls into question whether he has the necessary impartiality and judgment to conduct the investigation that to a great extent will determine whether Texas election campaigns will be financed and perhaps determined by corporations or by individuals.
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