Grand Jury: Evidence is There

Here's a new wrinkle in the DeLay story. In today's Dallas Morning News, a member of the grand jury that issued the indictment says the evidence against DeLay looked good enough to him:

"'It was not one of those sugarcoated deals that we handed to [District Attorney] Ronnie Earle,'" William M. Gibson said.

"He added: 'Mr. Earle has stacks and stacks of papers – evidence of telephone calls from Mr. DeLay and everybody.'"

Later on:

"Mr. DeLay, who stepped down as House majority leader when the indictment was issued Wednesday, and his lawyers say he knew nothing about the money exchange at the time it happened and that the indictment is a political vendetta against him.

But in the first public acknowledgements of what evidence against Mr. DeLay might exist, Mr. Gibson, a 76-year-old former sheriff's deputy and state insurance investigator, said there were ample indications of the congressman's involvement.

He said that Mr. DeLay provided the district attorney with a written statement that was given to the grand jury to consider but that Mr. DeLay declined to sign a sworn document or testify under oath.

Mr. DeLay 'just gave a statement saying he did nothing. And he didn't know how that money got back down here and all that stuff,' Mr. Gibson said. 'We believe different from other paperwork we got.'

He added, 'I am very much convinced that he had' knowledge of the transaction."

Of course there's still a trial to be had, but that's pretty damning stuff.