Houston Democrats

From the Washington Post:

Lawyers who specialize in ethics cases believe that the Republican House majority leader from Texas might be in technical breach of at least a few congressional regulations. According to published reports, a registered foreign agent paid for one of DeLay's overseas trips and a registered lobbyist used his credit card to pay for another foreign airfare -- actions the rules prohibit. DeLay may also have accepted gifts that exceeded congressional limits, taken an expense-paid trip overseas for longer than the rules allow and not disclosed all of the benefits he received.

However, if DeLay is able to convince the congressional committee investigating him that he was not aware of what the lobbyists did, he could manage to emerge vindicated or with a minor reprimand. According to a lawyer involved with congressional ethics, House ethics rules are written in a manner that accepts the "I was unaware of who was paying" line of argument as a credible defense.

However, history proves that once an ethics investigation is initiated the member in concern usually does not emerge unscathed. In this instance DeLay could be admonished, censured, or expelled by a House vote. The panel investigating him will be divided evenly between Republicans and Democrats. The committee is free to look into other issues that they may discover during an investigation. At the moment, DeLay is not under consideration for criminal violations.

The allegations against DeLay that have been published in recent weeks are a blur of charge and countercharge. Two things are clear. First, the most serious allegations generally involve overseas trips that were organized by nongovernmental groups. Second, unless a link is established between the journeys and his official actions, it doesn't appear that DeLay will face any civil or criminal worries. For now, the issues involve House ethics rules, which are overseen by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, also known as the ethics committee.

If the ethics committee decides to begin a formal ethics investigation, something it has not done yet, a subcommittee composed of four lawyers would be formed to conduct a confidential inquiry. The inquiry could take as long as six months to a year in order to collect documents and to take testimony about DeLay’s trips.

The most serious evidence against DeLay so far:

10-day long London and Scotland trip (May-June 2000)
• DeLay’s airfare charged to American Express card issued to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist already being investigated by federal authorities and a Senate committee
• Lobbyists are prohibited to pay for a Congressional members’ travel, even if they are reimbursed by an authorized source
• DeLay billed $184 including phone calls, food, and other items to a credit card used by Edwin A. Buckham, another lobbyist
• Congressional members are prohibited from accepting any gift exceeding $50 and no more than $100 in gifts from any one source in one year
• DeLay may not have fully reported as required by House disclosure rules, the cost of his golf outings at St. Andrews in Scotland
• Congress members are not allowed to accept foreign trips from any group or corporation that last longer than a week

South Korea (2001)
• Trip paid for by the Korea-US Exchange Council, a business-financed entity and registered foreign agent
• Registered foreign agents are not allowed to pay for House members’ travel

Moscow (1997)
• Paid for by the National Center for Public Policy, a legitimate arrangement under House rules, but it is alleged business interests supporting the Russian government paid for the trip
• House ethics rules prohibit third parties to finance a member’s travel

Bobby R. Burchfield, an attorney for DeLay, said that none of these incidents presents serious jeopardy for his client. The primary reason, he said, is that DeLay believed that the trips were arranged and paid for by bona fide organizations unconnected to lobbyists or lobbying groups, and that DeLay had no reason to think otherwise.

DeLay and his staff considered the research center to be "reputable" and knew Abramoff to be a board member of the group, Burchfield said. Neither DeLay nor his staff knew that the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council had registered as a foreign agent, he added.

Burchfiled claims "Congressman DeLay cannot be held accountable for things that he did not know about.”

However the House ethics manual has this to say:

It is advisable for a Member or staff person who is invited on a trip to make inquiry on the source of the funds that will be used to pay for the trip.

Let the games begin...