Ethics Panel Rebukes House Leader DeLay
Wed Oct 6, 2004 09:57 PM ET
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By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, rebuked by his chamber's ethics committee last week for offering an improper political favor, was admonished by the same panel on Wednesday night for two unrelated matters.
The committee rebuked DeLay for his participation in an energy company golf fund-raiser in 2002, and for having intervened with help of a federal agency in a partisan dispute in Texas last year.
DeLay called a late-night news conference to respond to the admonishments, which prompted another citizen's watchdog group to call for him to step aside.
Earlier this week, top House Republicans voiced confidence in DeLay. But a number of Republican lawmakers privately expressed concern he was becoming too much of a political liability.
As one veteran House Republican put it, "There are just too many clouds over Tom DeLay."
The 10-term Texas Republican, one of the most powerful figures on Capitol Hill, has maintained he has been unfairly targeted by Democrats because of his success in pushing his party's legislative agenda and growing its House majority.
Last week, the ethics committee admonished DeLay for having offered to endorse the son of a fellow House Republican if the lawmaker voted for a Medicare prescription drug bill.
The lawmaker, Rep. Nick Smith of Michigan, ended up voting against the bill, and his son ended up losing a congressional primary.
In response to last week's admonishment, DeLay said he accepted the committee's "new guidance," but had "never knowingly violate the rules of the House" in advancing his party's legislative agenda.
The committee rebuked DeLay on Wednesday in response to a complaint filed in June by Rep. Chris Smith, a Texas Democrat.
Bell accused DeLay of having solicited campaign contributions in return for legislative favors and having had improperly used a federal agency to track down Texas Democrats last year as part of a partisan fight. Continued ...
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