VOICE OF THE MAJORITY

DeLay Ethics Allegations Now Cause of GOP Concern
By Mike AllenWashington Post Staff Writer
March 2005;
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) has dismissed questions about his ethics as partisan attacks, bu trevelations 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."If death comes from a thousand cuts, Tom DeLay isinto 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 anew 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 andRep. 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 any where 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 byDemocrat partisan politics," he said. "The House has already voted on rules for this Congress, and there isno credible reason to do it again."The ethics protest came after a week of unrelentingbad 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."House member may face DeLay probe conflict
Mar 17, 12:24 AM
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House ethics committee member helped raise moneyfor a Texas political committee associated with Majority Leader TomDeLay, presenting a possible conflict if the congressional panel investigates DeLay's role in a fund-raising controversy.Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, was listed as a special guest and speaker in 2002 for Texans for a Republican Majority. While investigating DeLay's conduct last year, the House committee deferred - but did not dismiss -a complaint that DeLay, R-Texas, used the same political committee tosolicit corporate contributions in violation of state law. "Your support today will go directly to help Republican candidates inTexas successfully run and win their campaigns," according to one invitation from the political committee for a Sept. 23, 2002, breakfast reception with Smith and Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas. Suggested donations ranged from $25 to $10,000. Smith said in an interview that neither he nor any other House ethics committee member would "let personal friendship get in the way of the integrity of the House."Smith would not say whether he would remove himself from consideration of the matter.Every member of the committee "is obligated to protect the integrity ofthe House," he said. Smith's role in the fund raising is the latest controversy involving the ethics committee and DeLay. The Republican-controlled House this year changed the rules for ethics probes, contending greater fairness was needed toward members under investigation. Democrats are trying to overturn those changes, arguing they were designed to block any new investigations of DeLay by requiring at least one Republican vote to proceed. DeLay received a boost from President Bush, who told a news conference Wednesday: "I have confidence in Tom DeLay's leadership and I have confidence in Tom DeLay. And we've worked closely with Tom DeLay and the leaders in the House to get a lot done during the last four years, and I'm looking forward to working with him to get a lot done in the next four years."In an ethics committee that has five members from each party, Democrats have caused a 5-5 partisan split over adopting the new rules, preventing the committee from conducting any business. Despite the stalemate, committee Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., on Wednesday proposed a two-year panel budget of $4.7 million, a $1.7million increase.The extra money would expand ethics training for lawmakers and their staffs. It would pay for additional investigators to gather facts more quickly and provide timely disposition of cases. Hastings, in a reference to the DeLay controversy and rules stalemate,told the Committee on House Administration that "recent events have underscored the importance of providing the highest-quality ethics education, training, advice and information to both members and staff."The committee admonished DeLay last year for appearing to linklegislation to political donations, for offering to support the Housecandidacy of a lawmaker's son in return for a vote, and for asking federal aviation officials to help track down Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled their capital during a redistricting dispute.Smith was not a member of the committee last year when the panel deferred action on the fund-raising allegations against DeLay, who has denied any wrong doing.The ethics committee, formally the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, said it didn't want to interfere with a Travis County, Texas,grand jury investigating fund raising by Texans for a Republican Majority, which also is TRMPAC. DeLay has called the investigation political, noting that a Democratic prosecutor is in charge. DeLay was a founder of TRMPAC, serves on its advisory board and has helped with its fund raising. Three of DeLay's political associates have been indicted in the criminal investigation and a civil trial related to the fund raising is under way in Austin. The civil suit was filed by Democrats who contend that TRMPAC andothers raised illegal corporate donations. Smith, a former House ethics committee chairman, is one of two Republicans on the ethics committee who contributed to legal defense funds established by DeLay. The majority leader can use those funds topay legal expenses in any future ethics investigation. Smith said he could not recall whether he attended the TRMPAC event on Sept. 23, 2002, in San Antonio. In the past, DeLay said he had little to do with TRMPAC's day-to-day activities. Some documents in the civil case suggested he may have been actively involved in gathering corporate donations. Under Texas law, political committees can use corporate contributions for administrative expenses but not to support state candidates.

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