Quote: "In short, neither lack of evidence nor lack of law has deterred you." Dick DeGuerin, Tom DeLay's attorney, in a letter to the congressman’s prosecutor.
Figure of Speech: epiphonema (eh pih foe NEE ma), the memorable summary.
Tom DeLay's lawyer says Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle offered DeLay a plea bargain: if DeLay admitted to a misdemeanor, he wouldn't be prosecuted on a felony charge of money laundering. Attorney Dick DeGuerin names all the mean and nasty things that Ronnie Earle did to DeLay. "He turned you down flat so you had him indicted, in spite of advice from others in your office that Tom DeLay had not committed any crime," DeGuerin says to Earle.
Now comes a first-class epiphonema, a figure that sums things up in an impressive sentence: "In short, neither lack of evidence nor lack of law has deterred you."
Say what you will about The Hammer, we love a lawyer who can sling a good figure.
Snappy Answer: "And neither has a guilty-as-hell client deterred you."