The civil libertarian in me knows full well that there’s nothing wrong with those accused of wrongdoing hiring legal representation. The partisan in me, however, finds it entertaining to see Tom DeLay hire a team of lawyers to help get him out of his current predicament(s).
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has beefed up his legal defense team as the House ethics committee moved to resolve a lingering dispute that has stalled an investigation into his overseas travel.
Advisers to DeLay, R-Sugar Land, confirmed Monday that he has hired a second attorney, Richard Cullen, a former state attorney general in Virginia with extensive experience in criminal law and politics, to represent the lawmaker in potential House investigations.
“Richard is a terrific lawyer, and he will make a significant contribution to the DeLay team,” said Bobby Burchfield, a lawyer who has been representing DeLay.
Cullen is actually the third trial lawyer DeLay has hired recently, after picking up former Rep. Ed Bethune (R-Ark.), a lawyer with the firm Bracewell & Patterson, to represent him against ethics complaints filed in the House last year. Come to think of it, DeLay also hired two criminal-defense attorneys, Bill White and Steve Brittain, to represent him in the investigation into the activities of one of DeLay’s PACs during Texas’ 2002 legislative races.
For a guy who condemns trial lawyers because they “get fat off the pain” of plaintiffs, DeLay sure does like to surround himself with a lot of them.