Ronnie Earle is the district attorney for Travis County, Texas and is responsible for today's indictment of Tom DeLay for money laundering.
The Houston Chronicle reported in May:
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who denies partisan motives for his investigation of a political group founded by Republican leader Tom DeLay, was the featured speaker last week at a Democratic fund-raiser where he spoke directly about the congressman.A newly formed Democratic political action committee, Texas Values in Action Coalition, hosted the May 12 event in Dallas to raise campaign money to take control of the state Legislature from the GOP, organizers said.
Earle, an elected Democrat, helped generate $102,000 for the organization.
In his remarks, Earle likened DeLay to a bully and spoke about political corruption and the investigation involving DeLay, the House majority leader from Sugar Land, according to a transcript supplied by Earle.
"This case is not just about Tom DeLay. If it isn't this Tom DeLay, it'll be another one, just like one bully replaces the one before," Earle said.
"This is a structural problem involving the combination of money and power," he added. "Money brings power and power corrupts."
The crowd of 80 to 100 Democratic activists responded by making donations that exceeded the event's fund-raising goal.
In 2000, Earle held another fundraiser, this time with Dan Rather's longtime liberal activist daughter, Robin Rather. She is a well-known Austin-area environmentalist. According to RonnieEarle.com, his office announced a 2000 fundraiser that would feature speakers about "Protecting the Safety on which our Quality of Life Depends." Robin Rather the environmental activist (a bit more self-admitted than her father), probably had much to say about protecting the "quality of life" through environmental regulation.
Here are the sponsors, as listed on the site:
Sponsored By:Mayor Kirk Watson
Hon. Ben Barnes
Lowell Lebermann
Robin Rather &
David Murray
Mithoff & Jacks, LLP
John Sharp
Melissa Jones Stevens
