Houston Democrats

The two representatives are Lamar Smith of Texas and Tom Cole of Oklahoma. Speaker Dennis Hastert appointed them to the ethics committee to replace two Republicans who had voted to admonish DeLay last year.

The chairman of the ethics committee, Representative Doc Hastings, said Smith's and Cole's contributions to DeLay's legal fund "raised doubts – however unwarranted – about whether those members would be able to judge fairly allegations of impropriety against Mr. DeLay."

Smith has contributed a combined $10,000 to DeLay. Half of that he gave last year to help DeLay defend himself in the ethics probe. This caused some concern because one of the issues under consideration was deferred. In 2000, Smith gave $5,000 to DeLay to defend himself in a civil lawsuit. Smith said:

I continue to believe that I could judge this matter fairly and I remain committed to judging other matters that come before the committee fairly. However, any decision of the committee on any matter relating to Mr. DeLay will come under intense scrutiny. To ensure that any decision is final and not subject to any question, I believe it will be in the best interests of all concerned to recuse myself in such a situation.

Cole donated $5,000 during the ethics committee’s investigation of DeLay.

Meanwhile, DeLay is now pushing to clarify travel rules, stating that the ethics committee should issue more straightforward rules on what is permissible for travel sponsored by private groups. Hastert agreed saying, "I think there needs to be real guidance by the committee about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable."

I think it might be just a little late to start polishing tarnished brass.