DeLay Ethics Allegations Now
Cause of GOP Concern
The Washington Post
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A01
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) has dismissed
questions about his ethics as partisan attacks, but revelations
last week about his overseas travel and ties to lobbyists under
investigation have emboldened Democrats and provoked worry among
Republicans.
With some members increasingly concerned that DeLay had left
himself vulnerable to attack, several Republican aides and
lobbyists said for the first time that they are worried about
whether he will survive and what the consequences could be for
the party's image.
Despite questions about his ethics, Tom DeLay receives a warm
welcome in Sugar Land, Tex., where he once ran a pest-control
business. At least six Republicans have recently said they are
worried about the allegations. (Larry Pullen For The Washington
Post)
_____Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.)_____
Tom Delay • Gambling Interests Funded DeLay Trip (The
Washington Post, Mar 12, 2005)
• DeLay Treated for Irregular Heartbeat (The Washington
Post, Mar 11, 2005)
• House Ethics Panel in Gridlock (The Washington Post, Mar
11, 2005)
• S. Korean Group Sponsored DeLay Trip (The Washington Post,
Mar 10, 2005)
• Prosecutor Balks When Asked If DeLay Is Target of Tex.
Probe (The Washington Post, Mar 6, 2005)
• DeLay Moves To Protect His Political Base Back in Texas
(The Washington Post, Mar 3, 2005)
• Texas Trial Begins Against Treasurer of DeLay Group (The
Washington Post, Mar 1, 2005) |
"If death comes from a thousand cuts, Tom DeLay is into a
couple hundred, and it's getting up there," said a Republican
political consultant close to key lawmakers. "The situation is
negatively fluid right now for the guy. You start hitting
arteries, it only takes a couple." The consultant, who at times
has been a DeLay ally, spoke on the condition of anonymity,
saying he could not be candid otherwise.
At least six Republicans expressed concern over the weekend
about DeLay's situation. They said they do not think DeLay
necessarily deserves the unwanted attention he is receiving. But
they said that the volume of the revelations about his operation
is becoming alarming and that they do not see how it will
abate.
Thomas E. Mann, senior fellow in governance studies at the
Brookings Institution, said that DeLay remains generally strong
within his party and is an effective leader and operator, but
that "signs are emerging that both the number and nature of
charges being raised against him could put him in serious
political peril."
"While he is far from a nationally recognized figure,
Republicans worry that all it takes is more national news
coverage to change that, and there seems to be a new episode
every week or two," Mann said. "We've seen throughout
congressional history that a series of seemingly small ethical
missteps can snowball."
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said DeLay "has always
had, and continues to have, the strong support" of the party.
"His leadership and dedication to maintaining and growing our
numbers are a significant reason for our Republican majority," he
added.
Republican leaders had thought they had built a fortress
against future trouble by changing House rules in January and by
changing the House ethics committee's Republican membership in
February to include members closer to House Speaker J. Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.) and DeLay. In one previously unreported example
of the tight connections, Rep. Lamar S. Smith (R-Tex.), one of
the committee's new members, was co-host of a 2002 fundraising
breakfast to benefit the DeLay-founded political action committee
that is now the subject of a grand jury investigation in Texas.
The grand jury is looking into whether the PAC improperly used
corporate funds to influence the outcome of state legislative
races.
DeLay's legal defense fund received contributions from two of
the new ethics committee members, Smith and Rep. Tom Cole
(R-Okla.). The committee admonished DeLay three times last year.
Republican leaders later sought the rule changes that made it
more difficult to bring new ethics charges against
Republicans.
Democratic leaders have introduced a resolution to repeal the
rules and said they plan to try to force Republicans to publicly
defend the changes at a time when the news media are reporting
about DeLay's relationship with lobbyists now under criminal and
congressional investigation.
The rule changes require at least one member of each party to
support an investigation before it is begun. Under the old rules,
if the chairman and top Democrat did not agree on what to do with
a complaint within 45 days after it was determined to be valid,
an investigative subcommittee was automatically created. Now, a
complaint is automatically dismissed if the committee does not
act within 45 days.
Democrats opened their protest Thursday, at the ethics
committee's first meeting under its new leadership, by preventing
the panel from organizing. The committee must adopt rules to
function, and those were voted down by a 5 to 5 party-line vote,
leaving the House with no mechanism for investigating or
punishing members.
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (W.Va.), the committee's top Democrat,
said in a telephone interview yesterday that he will not release
his freeze on committee action unless the House undoes the rule
changes, and he said he has begun recruiting Republicans to back
him. He said he may use a tactic known as a discharge petition,
which could force a bill to the floor if enough Republicans back
him.
"This will have to be resolved on the House floor," Mollohan
said. "These rules undermine the ability of the committee to do
its job. Republicans are not going to want to be part of impeding
the work of the committee."
The ethics committee, formally known as the Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct, is the only panel split evenly
between Republicans and Democrats, giving the minority party
leverage it does not have anywhere else in the House.
Ron Bonjean, Hastert's communications director, said the
party's leaders have no intention of giving in. "It's very clear
we're at an impasse caused by Democrat partisan politics," he
said. "The House has already voted on rules for this Congress,
and there is no credible reason to do it again."
The ethics protest came after a week of unrelenting bad news
for DeLay, who was briefly taken to a hospital Thursday after he
experienced what his staff called fatigue related to a heart
arrhythmia. Two Sundays ago, CBS's "60 Minutes" aired a 12-minute
segment reminding a national audience that a Democratic district
attorney in Austin is continuing to suggest he might indict DeLay
as part of an investigation of the involvement of money from
Texans for a Republican Majority, a political action committee
founded by DeLay, in the state's redistricting controversy.
On Wednesday, the New York Times said documents entered as
evidence in a civil trial in Austin "suggest that Mr. DeLay was
more actively involved than previously known in gathering
corporate donations for" the committee, known as TRMPAC.
On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that DeLay and other
members, including some Democrats, had accepted trips from the
Korea-U.S. Exchange Council, which had registered as a foreign
agent. That would make the trips a violation of House rules,
although both DeLay and the group said he was not told about the
registration until last week.
Dan Allen, DeLay's communications director, said his boss was
a natural target for Democrats. "Congressman DeLay is a fixture
of the conservative movement who's been a very effective leader
that works with Republicans to get results," he said. "That alone
makes him a target of the Democrats and their allies, but it is
also the reason he enjoys the steadfast support of House
Republicans."
Smith, the new Texan on the ethics committee, said the TRMPAC
fundraising breakfast -- which invited supporters to spend as
much as $10,000 for "underwriter" status -- would not interfere
with his new duties. "When someone joins this committee, they
make a solemn vow to protect the integrity of the House of
Representatives," he said through an aide. "That means that every
decision has to be based on the merits, not partisanship."
|