A Texas Prosecutor With a Reputation for Challenging the Powerful

By VIKAS BAJAJ

Published: September 28, 2005

Ronnie Earle, who announced the indictment of the House majority leader Tom DeLay today by an Austin grand jury, has long defied easy characterization throughout his colorful tenure as the district attorney in the Texas state capital.

Mr. Earle, who put off retirement to see through a three-year-long investigation into the use of corporate money by committees tied to Mr. Delay, has built a reputation since 1976 as an eager antagonist of people who hold the reins of power in Austin and, sometimes by extension, in Washington.