No Date Set For DA Chuck Rosenthal's Contempt Hearing

Attorneys for Chuck Rosenthal abruptly halted a contempt hearing Friday after Harris County's district attorney acknowledged giving conflicting sworn statements that some observers think exposed him to possible perjury charges.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt granted the request for a recess and admonished lawyers on both sides against discussing the case with reporters. Hoyt did not say when the hearing, which has already taken up the better part of two days, might resume.

Rosenthal's Emails Become Subject Of Hearing

Although civil rights' activist and various ministers have called for embattled DA, Chuck Rosenthal, to resign; he has still managed to hold onto his job. Will this be the end of Chuck Rosenthal?

Since 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the director of information technology for Harris County has been on the stand, facing detailed questions about the disappearance and reappearance of roughly 3,500 e-mails.

Gary Zallar said he first discovered Nov. 21, 2007, that those e-mails were no longer in District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal’s e-mail account.

A federal judge had ordered Rosenthal’s office to allow examination of those e-mails the day before. An Oct. 31, 2007, supoena in a civil rights lawsuit had called for Rosenthal’s emails, sent from his county account, between July 1 and Oct. 15, 2007

Although the controversial DA's actions have once again been called into question, he still manages to hold onto his post. What do you think it will take for Chuck Rosenthal to step down?

Grand Jury Blocked From Reindicting Justice Medina

A Texas judge on Tuesday dismissed the grand jury whose indictment of a State Supreme Court justice and his wife here last week was thwarted by prosecutors.

The indictment of the justice, David M. Medina, and his wife, Francisca, involved a fire that destroyed their house and two others. But the charges were quashed in court the next day, with the Harris County district attorney’s office arguing that there was insufficient evidence to pursue them.

In an unusual public outcry, members of the grand jury on Friday called the dismissal an instance of political favoritism on the part of embattled District Attorney Charles A. Rosenthal Jr., like Justice Medina a Republican, and said they were prepared to reconvene this week to consider revoking the indictments before the panel’s term ran out.

That prospect became moot, however, when Judge Jim Wallace of State District Court agreed Tuesday with Justice Medina’s lawyer, Terry W. Yates, that procedural errors by the district attorney’s office in extending the grand jury’s term last November for three months invalidated the jury and all its 30 or so other indictments since then.

At a news conference later, 8 of the grand jury’s 12 members called the district attorney’s handling of the case arrogant and incompetent, The Associated Press reported. “We thought we were doing the right thing,” said one of them, Shannon Burns, “and someone puts a big wall up in front of you and doesn’t let you do what you feel is right.”

The grand jury, without elaborating, charged Justice Medina last Thursday with tampering with evidence: a threatening letter he said he had received. Mrs. Medina was charged with one count of arson.

The fire that destroyed the Medinas’ home occurred last June 28 in Spring, a Houston suburb. Investigators have said that the Medinas had financial problems.

As for Mr. Rosenthal, the district attorney since 2001, he has given up a bid for re-election and is under pressure to resign because of e-mail traffic at his office that included his love notes to a secretary as well as sexually explicit and racially charged messages.

Texas Supreme Court Justice & Wife Indicted

Justice David Medina, 49, a Republican appointed in 2004 by Gov. Rick Perry to fill a vacancy and elected to a six-year term in 2006, was indicted by a county grand jury on one count of tampering and fabricating physical evidence, and Mrs. Medina on one count of arson.

But after their attorney planned to have the Medinas surrender in Houston on Friday and plead not guilty, Chuck Rosenthal, the district attorney, stated that he would go into court Friday to have the charges dropped.

District Attorney Charles A. Rosenthal Jr., who has been fending off calls for his resignation over amorous e-mail messages to his executive secretary and other sexually explicit and racially charged messages, issued no statement.
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It appears that ole Chucky boy is looking out for one of his fellow Republicans. Resign Chuck Rosenthal now; you are such a huge embarrassment.

State Opens Inquiry Into Houston DA's Actions

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott launched an investigation Thursday into whether Harris County's top prosecutor, Chuck Rosenthal, violated state laws by using a government computer for campaign activities.

County commissioners last month set aside $50,000 for a private attorney to defend Rosenthal and two top assistants in their attempt to keep Rosenthal's e-mails private and defend Rosenthal against allegations that he illegally deleted e-mails. It wasn't clear Thursday whether county taxpayers might also pay for lawyers to defend Rosenthal in the attorney general's inquiry.

The new investigation, possible under a provision in state law that allows the removal of a district attorney for "official misconduct," is the latest development in an unfolding scandal over Rosenthal's e-mails, which included campaign fundraising invitations and discussions of his one-time political opponent, former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford.

Harris County DA Has 'Skeletons'

News here in Houston, Texas never ceases to amaze me. Now the Harris County, District Attorney's secret quirks has now been exposed. He has been sending "sexy emails" to his secretary.

They surfaced as exhibits in a civil rights lawsuit filed against the Harris County Sheriff’s Office by two brothers who photographed deputies executing a search warrant on a neighbor’s property.

The lawsuit alleges DA Chuck Rosenthal refused to investigate the sheriff’s office.

While preparing for the case, attorneys for the brothers ran across some e-mails of an intimate nature that Rosenthal had sent to his executive secretary.

In a message dated Aug. 10, Rosenthal wrote, “The very next time I see you, I want to kiss you behind your right ear.”

The DA should lose his job for this one. It is obvious that the sheriffs office had the goods on him that he did not want exposed. Do us a favor Rosenthal: STEP DOWN FROM OFFICE.