Burnt Orange Report

Dan Morales caught lying

By Byron LaMasters

Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Dan Morales ran for the Democratic nomination for governor last year, losing to Tony Sanchez. Morales was the highest ranking Latino, ever in the state of Texas, serving as Attorney General from 1991-1999. Morales went on to endorse Rick Perry in the general election after Perry appointed Morales to his anti-crime commission. But that wasn't good enough for Morales. He endorsed David Dewhurst for Lt. governor, too. So, I really have zero sympathy for this man... he's in jail now, and he's getting what he deserves:

Former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales was jailed Wednesday after prosecutors alleged that while free on bond on federal charges, he may have lied about his income when he bought two luxury cars.

Morales, who has been indicted on charges of fraud, conspiracy and lying on a loan application for a home, was taken into custody by federal marshals during a routine court hearing on his case and booked into the Travis County Jail.

Prosecutors claimed that although Morales had earlier told the court he couldn't afford to hire a lawyer, he stated on loan applications for a Lexus and a Mercedes that he made $20,000 a month and $20,800 a month.

By making the contradictory statements about his income, prosecutors said, he may have committed new offenses and therefore should have his personal recognizance bond revoked.

The loan application information "was inconsistent with previous testimony of the defendant," said Shana Jones, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, who is based in San Antonio.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks set a hearing for this afternoon to determine if a new bond should be set.

Last year, Morales couldn't afford a lawyer, this year he's making $20,000 a month. Something's just not right.

Full disclosure: I did vote for Tony Sanchez, both in the Democratic primary, and the general election last year. I don't regret it, but I would not support him (in the primary) if he runs again. I considered voting for Dan Morales, but I gave Tony Sanchez the benefit of the doubt in the primary after debating with his son for about an hour at a University Democrats party in early 2002, and also because I hoped that he would use his millions of dollars to help rebuild the Texas Democratic Party (register voters, voter education, etc). Unfortunately, most of his money was wasted away on largely ineffective television ads, and high priced political consultants. I've met Tony Sanchez several times, and he's a very decent, family man, who cares deeply about education and other issues. But, as a candidate, he just didn't have it, went way too negative, way too early, failed to offer a compelling vision for the state, changed his campaign theme weekly, and couldn't recover from Rick Perry's attacks.