Sen. Hutchison Puts Koresh Lawyer on Her Defense Team

AUSTIN, Tex. —  Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) has hired Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin, who was the lawyer for cult leader David Koresh, to lead her defense against official misconduct charges, her office announced Tuesday.

Hutchison also named to her defense team University of Texas law professor Michael Tigar, who is representing John Demjanjuk in his effort to regain his U.S. citizenship after being acquitted on charges that he was a Nazi war criminal.

The senator was charged last week with using state employees and equipment for political tasks while she was state treasurer. She also is accused of tampering with government records and physical evidence.

DeGuerin was retained by Koresh’s mother in March and visited Koresh several times at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Tex., in an unsuccessful bid to negotiate a peaceful end to the 51-day siege of the compound by federal agents. Koresh was among 86 killed in a fire at the compound.