GOP Approves New Party Rules in Light of DeLay

aolnews ^ | 11 17 04 | LARRY MARGASAK

[freepatriot32]

WASHINGTON (Nov. 17) - House Republicans wrestled Wednesday with ways to keep Rep. Tom DeLay as majority leader in the event he is indicted by Texas grand jury that has brought charges against three of his political associates.

Meeting several hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, GOP members discussed compromises that would try to insulate their leader without giving blanket protection to party leaders indicted on felony charges.

DeLay, R-Texas, called the campaign finance investigation in Travis County, Texas a partisan attack on him, even though there has been no indication that he faces an indictment.

A House Republican rule requires that GOP leaders step down if indicted on charges that could bring a prison term of at least two years. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, has proposed that this step-aside rule apply only to federal felony indictments.

That plan ran into immediate trouble, several law makers said, when questions were raised about protecting members who hypothetically could be indicted for murder or other charges that would clearly be non-political. The Republican lawmakers then considered a compromise that would not distinguish between federal and state indictments, but would have the Republican Steering Committee- a group of more than two dozen members - determine whether an indictment was frivolous.

Under this proposal, the steering committee would have to make a decision in 30 days and the indicted leader would have to step aside temporarily while the committee deliberated.

The House Republican Conference, consisting of all House Republicans, would likely make the final decision on whether the leader had to relinquish his or her post.

The grand jury is probing alleged irregularities in 2002 state legislative races. Republican victories in those contests enabled DeLay ultimately to win support for a congressional redistricting plan that resulted in the GOP's gain of five House seats in Texas in this month's elections.

House Democrats have a step-aside provision that applies to both federal and state proceedings similar to the current Republican rule, and their leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, was highly critical of the GOP proposal.

''If they make this rules change, Republicans will confirm yet again that they simply do not care if their leaders are ethical. If Republicans believe that an indicted member should be allowed to hold a top leadership position in the House of Representatives, their arrogance is astonishing,'' Pelosi said.

In September, the grand jury indicted three political operatives associated with DeLay and eight companies, alleging campaign finance violations related to corporate money spent in the 2002 legislative races. The corporate donations were made to Texans for a Republican Majority, a political action committee created with help from DeLay.

DeLay said he was not questioned or subpoenaed as part of the investigation, led by retiring prosecutor Ronnie Earle.

The majority leader said after the indictments, ''This has been a dragged-out 500-day investigation, and you do the political math. This is no different than other kinds of partisan attacks that have been leveled against me that are dropped after elections.''

In October, the House ethics committee rebuked DeLay for appearing to link political donations to a legislative favor and improperly persuading U.S. aviation authorities to intervene in the Texas redistricting dispute.

---

Associated Press Writer Suzanne Gamboa contributed to this report

[MEG33]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1283501/posts?page=13#13

......The Travis County, Texas, prosecutor investigating Mr. DeLay has a history of using his office for partisan ends. The district attorney, Ronnie Earle, maintains that he has prosecuted more Democrats than Republicans in his career, but those who've been watching Mr. Earle work know better. In the past, Mr. Earle has been accused of collaborating with reporters to push his investigations of political figures. In 2003, Austin American-Statesman reporter Dave McNeely inappropriately allowed Mr. Earle to review a story about the corporate-donations case before it went to press. Another widely known example involves a 1994 case Mr. Earle brought against newly elected Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Mr. Earle charged that Mrs. Hutchison, then Texas state treasurer and a rising star in the Republican Party, was using state employees for political purposes. When the judge refused to admit certain documents, Mr. Earle withdrew his case. Later, he invited reporters to view the inadmissible documents. For that, the Dallas Morning News wrote: "the impression of partisan unfairness has certainly been reinforced by the leaks and public comment about Hutchison's case from the District Attorney's office ...



13 posted on 11/19/2004 2:27:29 AM CST by MEG33

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20041118-093816-6828r.htm

[MEG33]

I am sure he appreciates your vote.

[Indie]

That might have been unrecognized sarcasm..but..what vote? I can still sleep at night, though.