Juan Angel Guerra

The indictments are over, but the war of words is still ongoing.

While the charges against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) are off the table, lame-duck Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra and Lucio threw several jabs at each other after Monday's developments, with the Democratic D.A. blasting corruption and the state senator accusing the D.A. of being "bitter."

"Mr. Guerra is a very bitter, bitter individual right now," Lucio told The (McAllen) Monitor. "He lost a re-election bid."

Indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez were both dismissed Monday, only hours after an indictment against state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) was also dismissed.

Presiding Judge Manual Banales said Monday that the indictments — won two weeks ago by Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra — were improperly returned by a Willacy County grand jury.

All of the politicians were charged with various crimes related to the alleged abuse of prisoners at federal detention centers within the South Texas county. But Guerra struggled to prove that the defendants had knowledge of the alleged crimes.

Presiding Judge Manuel Bañales dismissed an indictment against state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) on a corruption charge related to the alleged abuse of prisoners at federal detention centers within the South Texas county.

Lucio was charged with profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from multiple prison management companies. However, Bañales dismissed the indictment because it did not address a "culpable mental state," according to The Associated Press.

Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra attempted to show a financial link between Lucio and the number of prisoners at the facilities, but Lucio's attorney argued that it wasn't a reasonable charge because it didn't prove that the state senator knew what was going on or was attempting to exploit the relationship.

A Texas district judge ruled Monday that Presiding Judge Manuel Bañales will continue to hear the cases involving indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) and other South Texas officials.

Last week, lame-duck Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra asked for Bañales to remove himself from the case, claiming the judge was giving special treatment to the high-profile defendants by allowing motions to dismiss the cases to be heard before the arraignment.

But District Judge Michael Peden, a San Antonio Republican, said Monday after two hours of testimony, that he had heard nothing to make him believe Bañales would not be impartial.

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Dick Cheney

Friday’s scheduled arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) and several South Texas officials was delayed until next Wednesday when Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra asked for Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to remove himself from the case.

Guerra, a lame-duck DA accused of using the indictments to settle political scores by several of the defendants’ attorneys, yelled at the judge and pounded his fist, claiming the judge was giving special treatment to the defendants by allowing motions to dismiss the indictments to be heard before arraignment.

Banales contacted the chief justice of the state Supreme Court to ask how to proceed before adjourning the court until Wednesday morning, presumably to give the chief justice time to issue a directive.

When Willacy County Defense Attorney Juan Angel Guerra failed to show up before Judge Manual Bañales in court Wednesday, a defense attorney for Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez attempted to dismiss the case and asked that Guerra be held in contempt of court and face sanctions.

As it turns out, the actions of the lame-duck DA may have been justified, and Cheney's team may have jumped the gun.

According to The Brownsville Herald, court documents showed that Bañales only planned to review the indictments against Cheney, Gonzalez, state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) and several South Texas officials, which accuse them of various actions related to the alleged abuse of prisoners at federal detention centers in the county. He was also prepared to schedule the cases for arraignment, pretrial hearings and a trial itself.

But 13 defense attorneys representing the accused officials effectively turned that into an impromptu hearing, attempting to dismiss the indictments. Guerra, however, wasn't there to defend the indictments he won, and documents show that no notice was given of a potential hearing where his presence in the Raymondville courtroom would be needed.

Willacy County Judge Manuel Banales set a Friday arraignment date for Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) and several South Texas officials, ruling late Wednesday that the indictments won by lame-duck Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra could go forward.

Cheney, Gonzalez, and Lucio are accused of various actions related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in federal detention centers within the county. Cheney's indictment claims he has a "conflict of interest" by his $85 million investment in a group that owns many of the private prison companies, while Gonzalez is alleged to have used his political status to impede a 2006 investigation into the abuse.

However, in a bizarre twist, Guerra didn't attend Wednesday's hearing at the Raymondville court. Banales ordered Texas Rangers to go to Guerra's house to check on his well-being and to order him to the Friday hearing.

So while the judge did call for the arraignment, it's not a done deal that the cases will go beyond that. Because Guerra wasn't in attendance, Banales delayed several motions to dismiss the indictments until Friday, when Guerra will be ordered to attend.

A constitutional law specialist says that Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra has no jurisdiction over federal officials or federally run buildings.

Guerra presented charges against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, and state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) on Tuesday, indicting them for various activity related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in federal detention centers in the South Texas county.

But according to at least one legal source, it's questionable whether the lame-duck DA has the standing to make the indictments hold. The district's presiding judge has yet to sign off on any of the indictments.

"You can't have district attorneys across the country bringing charges against federal officials," T. Gerald Treece, a constitutional law specialist and professor at the South Texas College of Law, told The Associated Press. "If there are issues at the federal detention centers, then Guerra should turn the investigation over to the federal government."

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Dick Cheney

A Willacy County grand jury indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez late Tuesday on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in federal detention centers in the South Texas county. In addition, state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) was indicted on charges of profiting from his position.

Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, who had been under indictment himself for nearly two years for allegedly extorting money from a bail bond company before charges were dismissed last month, handed out the charges in the final weeks of his time as DA. He lost in the Democratic primary in March.

As of Wednesday morning, the district's presiding judge had yet to sign off on the indictment.

"There are a lot of wild things in the (Rio Grande) Valley, but this is by far the wildest," GEO attorney David Oliveira told The Brownsville Herald. "It's crazy."