TRM indictments upheld

Money laundering: Still illegal.

State District Judge Bob Perkins today said he believes two officials with Texans for a Republican Majority should stand trial on felony charges of money laundering.

The judge ruled that the state election code is constitutional and said he disagreed with arguments that the money-laundering charges had to refer to “cash” instead of a $190,000 check that the pair is accused laundering during the 2002 legislative elections.

Perkins, a Democrat who must run for office, referred to his own fundraisers: “All the funds I ever received were checks. In my opinion, funds would include checks.”

[…]

The follow-up hearings are required because a Travis County grand jury last week re-indicted the pair on the money laundering charges after the defense objected that the original indictment referred to a check instead of cash. The defense lawyers contend the state’s money-laundering statute refers only to cash transactions.

It is the second time in as many months that a judge has found the state law constitutional, but the first time a defendant has been ordered to face trial on criminal charges arising from the use of corporate contributions during the 2002 legislative elections.

Yes, these jokers actually tried to claim that only cash donations (delivered, one presumes, in a brown paper bag) are forbidden by the law. This is on a par with the “I didn’t say ‘Valerie Plame’, I said ‘Joe Wilson’s wife'” defense in terms of insult-the-intelligence capacity. I can’t wait to see what they trot out at the trial itself. Thanks to Nick for the tip.

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