http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/08/24/tom-delay-money-laundering-case-going-to-trial-in-texas/

Former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) has been demanding a trial on his money-laundering indictment since 2005, and on Tuesday a Texas judge granted his wish.

At a pre-trial hearing in Austin, Senior Judge Pat Priest said the trial would go forward but he did not set a start date, The Associated Press reported.

"I've been asking for a trial now for five years. Finally I'm getting a trial," DeLay, 63, told reporters outside the courtroom.

On Wednesday, DeLay's attorneys will ask the judge to move the trial to the former House majority leader's home county near Houston, where they say he's more likely to get a fair jury.

The congressman, once dubbed "The Hammer" for his hard-hitting political style, was indicted in 2005 on charges of violating campaign finance laws that ban corporate contributions to state political campaigns, as well as conspiracy. DeLay has maintained his innocence on all charges.

DeLay's two co-defendants face lesser charges, and their cases will now be tried separately. Prosecutors said they'll press charges of election code violations against John Colyandro and Jim Ellis. The judge said he won't give them a trial before DeLay, even though prosecutors were seeking that, the AP said.

If convicted of the money-laundering charge, DeLay could face five to 99 years, or life, in prison, according to the AP.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department ended its six-year criminal investigation of ties between DeLay and convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff without filing any charges against the former congressman.