Once again, Texas county indicts Senator Hutchison, former aides.

DALLAS -- U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Tex., and two former aides have been reindicted on charges of official misconduct and tampering with evidence and government records during her tenure as Texas treasurer.

"It's a sad day for Texas and its political system," Hutchinson said in a prepared statement after the indictment was handed down Wednesday by a grand jury in Travis County, Tex. "At least I'm relieved that we can finally get to court. My side of the story can now be told."

The felony and misdemeanor charges in the reindictment are almost the same as those handed down by another Travis County grand jury in September. The charges were thrown out on a technicality, thus delaying the trial.

Hutchinson is charged with four felony counts and one misdemeanor count of misusing Texas treasury employees and equipment, and attempting to cover up her actions by altering and destroying government records. Specifically, she is accused of using her staff for political and personal chores during her tenure as state treasurer, which began in late 1990 and ended this summer when she won a U.S. Senate seat in a special election.

Also reindicted were David Criss, former treasury planning director, on one count of official misconduct; and Michael Barron, former deputy treasurer for operations, on one count of official misconduct. Barron also was indicted on two counts of tampering with government records and physical evidence.

A pretrial hearing for Barron and Criss has been set for Jan. 10. No date has been set for Hutchinson's pretrial hearing.

Hutchinson's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said he will do everything he can to start the trial before Christmas and before the U.S. Senate reconvenes in late January. Hutchison faces reelection next year.

"The reindictment comes almost eight weeks after we offered to proceed to trial fortwith by waiving reindictment on virtually identical charges," DeGuerin said in a prepared statement. "It is clear that [Travis County District Attorney Ronnie] Earle is attempting to delay this politically motivated persecution into the 1994 political election year."

Earle, a Democrat, has denied charges that the investigation was politically motivated and said the grand jurors were doing their job. His office began the investigation of the Texas Treasury in 1992.

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