It seems like it to me.
I'm told that in the military, the outcomes of courts martial are almost always pre-determined, usually by command influence. A commander makes known his or her belief or preference, then subsequent actions by subordinates reflect that belief or preference.
When his interests were served by referring to command influence to defend his lack of comment on the Plame Leak Investigation, Bush had no problem holding his tongue about the merits of the case, any actions he planned as a consequence of the case or the inconsistencies in comments already made by he or his mouthpieces.
In the matter of Delay, the tar-brush (probably more accurately called a white-wash brush as few corrupted GOP'ers are Black!) of corruption comes close to Bush but does not appear to actually hit him. Appear, I said! As a result, Bush obviously feels comfortable exerting the influence he knows will result from such a statement.
"What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest."
While neither Bush nor Delay is a King Henry II and Earle is not an Archbishop Becket, I'd be very careful if I were he. Small planes in Texas would be a no-no (Even bin Ladens died in plane crashes in Texas, a father in 1968 and a son in 1988!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/... ). I'd communicate to all I knew the fact that suicide has never been considered and if it is asserted to have occurred (in the future) it is not true.
There will always be a loyal Bush worker to take action on his behalf.
This was posted in another thread but it seemed appropriate here.