Witnesses Who Didn’t Testify at Tom DeLay’s Trial

The defense rested last Thursday in the money laundering trial of Tom DeLay, my former congressman, without fanfare or farewell. I was somewhat startled at the paucity of witnesses who were offered up to rise to the defense of DeLay. But judging from the colossal blunder of Dick DeGuerin last week in offering up evidence that only served to cook Tom’s goose a little more thoroughly than the prosecution meant to, perhaps the less said the better.

But there were two witnesses that I was mightily expecting to see on the stand before the defense rested, and neither of them showed up.

Who are these promised witnesses? Tom DeLay and God.

Tom DeLay won’t speak in his own defense. Now I know DeLay (well, not really, but I know someone who does) and I know that this is not his idea at all. Tom DeLay is all about shooting his mouth off. It is at the very core of his being. Heck, they even put a reporter on the stand to give testimony to a 96 second interview outside the courtroom earlier. Testimony to verify that Tom DeLay was again shooting his mouth off about how he could have prevented the RNC from giving the funds to his seven named State House candidates.

And didn’t.

No, this was strategy. DeGuerin finally realized that the less said in this trial in the defense of DeLay, the better.

But why didn’t Tom get his good ol’ buddy God to testify? He said he would. He did. He said that when he gave his farewell speech in the House back in June of 2006. This, among other things were said in that vast rambling speech that can be read here:

“Here on this floor, I have caught and thrown spears of every sort. Over the course of 22 years, I've probably worked with and against almost everyone in this chamber at least once. I have scraped and clawed for every vote, every amendment, for every word of every bill that I believed in my heart would protect human freedom and defend human dignity. I have done so at all times honorably and honestly, Mr. Speaker, as God is my witness and history is my judge.”

See? Tom DeLay named God to be on his witness list. But no God. No Jesus, and not even one of His angels came to testify for Tom DeLay.

So not only did Tom DeLay not give testimony at his own trial, because Dick DeGuerin told him not to, but God was a no-show as well.

Maybe God figured that if He couldn’t help Tom in his defense, He probably shouldn’t take the stand on the off-chance that He might also hurt the case.