U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay, R-Texas, appeared in Travis County Judge Bob Perkins’ court on Friday morning for an arraignment hearing.
DeLay is charged with conspiracy and money laundering related to 2002 legislative races in Texas. DeLay says he's innocent.
The Republican from Sugar Land listened while his lawyer pointedly asked Perkins to step aside for making campaign donations to Democrats and their liberal allies. His attorneys believe Perkins has a conflict of interest. Attorney Dick DeGuerin said Perkins made several contributions to Democratic Party organizations and the group Moveon.org.
DeGuerin filed a motion asking Judge Perkins to recuse himself from the case.
"Let me just say number one, I've never seen that shirt, and number two, I never bought one, and number three the last time I contributed to Moveon.org was prior to the last election when they were focused on helping senator Kerry," Perkins said.
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DeLay in court
U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay faces conspiracy and money laundering charges.
 
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Perkins said he'll let a judge outside Travis County decide if he should continue to preside.
The media fanfare then moved from the courtroom to the court of public opinion. DeLay took his message to the Texas Capitol. Some protestors greeted DeLay outside the Travis County Courthouse with singing, chants and signs.
"The only reason why I had to appear in court today was because Ronnie Earle has abused his prosecutorial powers and he's pursued these contrived and baseless charges," DeLay said.
DeLay's attorneys also filed a motion to move his trial outside Travis County. DeGuerin said the jury pool in Travis County is "tainted" by all the publicity over the case.
The District Attorney's Office disputes that, saying DeLay can be judged fairly by a jury of his peers in Travis County.
Judge B.B. Schraub will decide if Perkins can continue his role in the DeLay case. Schraub is a Republican judge with the 3rd Administrative Regional Court of Texas. He was reappointed to his position by Gov. Rick Perry in 2002.
