Indictments Against Senator Dropped, but Inquiry Is Still On

Indictments charging Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) with using a previous elected office for personal and political gain were dismissed Tuesday, but she remains under investigation.

The indictments were dropped because the grand jury that handed them up included a member who was ineligible because he faced a charge of writing a bad check for $20 in 1988, officials said.

Prosecutors said a new grand jury has taken up the investigation.

Hutchison was indicted Sept. 27 on charges of using her office as state treasurer for personal and political purposes and then destroying records as part of a cover-up. She has denied any wrongdoing, saying the charges were hatched by Democrats seeking to discredit her.

Hutchison’s attorneys initially filed motions to have the charges dismissed because of the ineligible juror, and Travis County Dist. Atty. Ronnie Earle agreed that they should be dropped.

But on Monday, Hutchison’s defense team surprised State District Judge Mike Lynch by asking that the charges stand so that Hutchison’s trial could start as scheduled on Nov. 29. Attorney Dick DeGuerin said she could face charges, called an information, that were issued directly by the district attorney’s office.

Earle called such a move a legal trick to make it appear that Hutchison wanted a speedy resolution of the case while her attorneys delayed proceedings with other motions challenging the way the grand jury gathered evidence.

The judge on Tuesday rejected the defense team’s proposal.

Hutchison resigned as state treasurer in June after winning a landslide victory for the Senate seat Lloyd Bentsen relinquished to become U.S. Treasury secretary.