AUSTIN, Oct. 20 -- Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was arrested Thursday after turning himself into the county sheriff's office in Houston, and then he was photographed, fingerprinted and released, three weeks after becoming the sole member of the House leadership in Washington to be indicted in at least 50 years.
The surrender to police of one of the nation's most powerful politicians was forced by a summons issued Wednesday by a district court here in the state's capital, in preparation for DeLay's eventual trial on felony criminal charges of money-laundering and conspiracy related to the allegedly illegal use of corporate funds in the 2002 state election.
Although DeLay and his attorneys have said the charges are ill-founded and politically motivated, they could have serious consequences if upheld in court. Violations of the state's money-laundering statute -- a law commonly used against drug smugglers -- are punishable by a maximum life prison term and a $10,000 fine.
DeLay's appearance at the county booking office in Houston was carefully orchestrated by his attorneys to elude direct observation by reporters, and it was over in less than a half hour. But the sheriff's office promptly released his mug shot, which showed a grinning, confident politician in a gray suit and red tie, wearing the small lapel pin used to identify members of Congress.
DeLay was driven to the sheriff's office directly from the Houston airport, where he had arrived in a private jet with two security guards provided by the Capitol Hill police. A third police officer arrived in Houston the previous evening. Kevin Madden, DeLay's spokesman in Washington, said he did not immediately know who owned the jet.
Ordinarily, such escorts are given only to House leaders, a rank that DeLay relinquished after being indicted in separate charges on Sept. 28 and Oct. 3. But Madden said the police had made a "threat-based assessment" that DeLay still warranted such protection only a few weeks after resigning his post.
DeLay's office, which worked with his lawyers to avoid scrutiny of his formal arrest today, did not immediately release a statement about it. But his lead attorney Dick DeGuerin said the booking procedure was unnecessary and blamed it on the Travis County district attorney, Ronnie Earle, who has been probing the corporate contributions since 2003.
