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

Guerra, however, alleged widespread corruption at all levels of government and said Lucio was wrong to take payment for being “an expert on prisons” when he was elected to represent the people. According to The Monitor, Guerra accused the news media of not doing its jobs, and asked reporters to confront Lucio about collecting paychecks from companies who benefit from state and federal contracts.

Guerra also cited the placement of Cheney’s son-in-law, Phillip Perry, in charge of the federal detention facility as an example of government corruption.

“People are continuing to die in there,” Guerra said of the for-profit prison.

Before the case was dismissed, Lucio’s attorney moved that Guerra be disqualified from prosecuting the case against Lucio because he was concerned that the animosity between the two would prevent the state senator from having a fair trial.

Lucio’s case was thrown out because Guerra’s indictment failed to prove that his alleged actions were knowingly or willfully made, according to Presiding Judge Manual Banales.

The cases against Cheney and Gonzalez were thrown out because two alternates were used in the grand jury that awarded Guerra the indictments. Banales did not comment on the merits of those cases because they were not argued in court.