House Ethics Panel to Probe Tom DeLay

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AP
House Ethics Panel to Probe Tom DeLay

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Republican chairman of the House ethics committee offered on Wednesday to begin an investigation of Majority Leader Tom DeLay to end a stalemate that has kept the panel from functioning this year.

Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., made the proposal at a news conference flanked by three of the four other Republicans on the ethics panel. The evenly divided committee also has five Democrats.

Senior committee Democrat Alan Mollohan of West Virginia quickly rejected the offer, saying his party would continue blocking the panel from operating unless investigative rules imposed by Republicans were changed.

This is the second time in two weeks that Republicans tried to break the deadlock, while Democrats have held their ground and criticized the GOP-written rules for investigating lawmakers, passed in January without Democratic support. Democrats have accused the majority party of writing the rules to protect DeLay.

"The first principle in doing it right is that it be bipartisan," said Mollohan. "That's a beginning point for me."

Mollohan would not say whether he supported an investigation of DeLay, commenting that his effort to change the rules — to prevent automatic dismissal of cases — is "totally independent from any specific case."

While Democrats have kept up a stream of accusations of unethical conduct against DeLay, they also have attempted to gain political mileage from the Republican rules. The primary objection is to a rule that would automatically dismiss cases in a tie vote — allowing either party on the evenly divided committee to stop an investigation.

DeLay has offered to appear before the committee to defend himself against allegations of misconduct, including his travel with a lobbyist whose clients may have paid for the Texas Republican's foreign travel on several occasions.

DeLay, in a statement, supported Hastings' proposal.

"I've sent letters to the committee asking to appear before the chairman and ranking member to discuss matters," he said. "And for more than a month I've said I hope for a fair process that will afford me the opportunity to get the facts out and set the record straight. I welcome the opportunity to address this with the committee."

Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., escalated the conflict by indicating that Republicans are ready to investigate allegations of Democratic wrongdoing.

In a radio interview with broadcaster Sean Hannity, Hastert said there were "four or five cases out there dealing with top level Democrats." He did not name them.

"There's a reason they don't want to go to the ethics process. As long as they can keep somebody dangling out there like they have with Tom DeLay, they take great glee in that," Hastert said.

The Republicans were "prepared to vote at the earliest opportunity to empanel an investigations subcommittee to review various allegations concerning travel and other actions" by DeLay, Hastings said.

The ethics committee has authority to start an investigation based on information it receives "through public and other sources," he added.

The officially named Committee on Standards of Official conduct was scheduled to meet on Thursday.

The ethics committee admonished DeLay last year on three separate issues but did not find that he violated House rules. A district attorney in Texas is investigating potentially illegal corporate contributions to a Texas political committee started by DeLay.

Hastings' comments went well beyond a proposed change in the rules, offering an immediate investigation into one of the most powerful lawmakers in Congress.

"Let me emphasize that this is an unusual and extraordinary step for the committee to take," he said.

He was joined at the news conference by Reps. Judy Biggert of Illinois, Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania and Tom Cole of Oklahoma.

Republican Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas did not attend. Hart would lead any investigation of DeLay, Hastings said.

DeLay and other Republicans have insisted in public comments in recent weeks that the charges against him were partisan, the efforts of a minority desperate to regain power.

At the same time, there has been growing restiveness among members of the GOP rank and file who were unhappy to be on the receiving end of questions about whether they were merely trying to shelter DeLay from harm.

Hastings would not comment on whether he had spoken to DeLay about the proposal — but he did say he could not speak with a member "about matters that may or may not come before the ethics committee."

The investigation cannot proceed unless Democrats end the stalemate over the rules. Hastings called the proposal "a means by which he (DeLay) can state his case."

Hastings said he would guarantee in writing that Democrats could have three months — and possibly longer — for a preliminary investigation of a lawmaker. Hastings promised that no case would be dismissed without a vote of the full committee.

Hastings made a similar offer last week, but not in writing. Mollohan on Wednesday repeated his earlier rejection of that offer, saying it would not prevent the automatic dismissal of cases __ allowing one party to run out the clock.