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     *When it comes to the legal system in America, justice is supposed to be blind.

     But while Congress is busy signing checks to cover the latest financial crisis, President George Bush is busy signing last-minute pardons for people convicted of everything from drug trafficking and tax evasion to lying to federal authorities.

     There seems to be no rhyme or reason for who gets the coveted pardon. Seventeen people are part of the latest group of those on the Bush pardon list.

     What’s more surprising than who is on the list is who’s not on it.

It was just last month that Alaska’s Republican Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty of filing false financial statement.

     So maybe it’s too soon for him to be put on the list, especially since Stevens is in denial about his guilty verdict.

     Two other politicians convicted of public corruption also are conspicuously absent from the pardon list, even though they have requested to be put on it. Former California Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham resigned from the House in 2005 after pleading guilty to accepting more than $2 million in bribes and underreporting his income for 2004. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. In 2006 Cunningham received an eight-year sentence and was ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution.

     Then there’s Edwin Edwards. He’s the former four-term Louisiana governor serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted of racketeering in 2001. Edwards began his prison term in 2002 and turned 81 last August in a Louisiana penitentiary.  Edwards and Cunningham’s request for a pardon so far have gone unanswered by Bush.

     While most convicted felons have to ask for a pardon to be considered, one former politician might not have to depend on Bush's good graces to get out of his legal trouble. Fellow Texan and former Congressman Tom DeLay could see his charges dismissed because the money he is accused of laundering was exchanged in the form of a check instead of cash.

     It's acceptable, it seems, to operate under questionable ethical practices as long as there's a loop hole big enough to jump through. DeLay's attorney even bragged about his client's ability to do just that.

     DeLay was charged with money-laundering in 2002. Court documents show DeLay took bribes made to look like legitimate campaign contributions in exchange for aiding Texas Republican lawmakers to redraw congressional districts to ensure a Republican majority in Congress and buttress DeLay's standing as U.S. House majority leader. After his indictment DeLay resigned his leadership post and didn’t seek re-election.

     The Texas money-laundering statute in question was written in 1993 to combat illicit drug activity by focusing on the cash in criminal transactions. At the time DeLay allegedly committed his crime checks did not apply to the statute. In 2005 the Legislature changed the law to include checks.

     It’s safe to say that a lawmaker who spent 8 years in the Texas State House - as DeLay did - would have intimate knowledge of the law’s fine print concerning checks versus cash and might use that knowledge to his advantage in the commission of an offence against it.  

Steffanie Rivers is a free-lance journalist living in the Dallas, Texas metroplex. To schedule speaking engagements or to send questions or comments email her at teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com