Democrats call for more inquiries against DeLay

Of course they do. But this is interesting; it turns out that DeLay has been admonished by the House Ethics Committe for a rules breach that I wasn't even following.

From the Houston Chronicle:

A public admonishment of Majority Leader Tom DeLay by the House ethics committee spurred Democrats to call for further investigations and liberal interest groups to question how much longer he can hold onto power.

In a rare reproach of a House leader, the committee issued a report late Thursday saying that the Sugar Land Republican had violated House rules by offering to trade a favor for a vote on a Medicare reform bill last fall.

But don't forget, Lizard King Tom DeLay has been admonished in the past, is surrounded by people under indictment, and is still in hot water because of some far more serious allegations:

The committee's sanction marked the third incident in nine days related to DeLay and alleged ethical breaches.

Last week, three of his top political aides were indicted in Austin on charges of illegal fund-raising. This week, a former aide and a political ally were subpoenaed to testify about questionable lobbying practices involving Indian tribes.

In 1999, the House ethics committee, formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, issued a letter privately admonishing DeLay for improperly pressuring trade groups to not hire Democrats. Two years earlier, DeLay was cautioned by the committee to not solicit political funds on federal property.

The committee also is considering whether to launch a separate investigation into a three-part complaint against DeLay filed by Rep. Chris Bell, a Houston Democrat.

Bell's complaint accuses DeLay of abuse of power, misuse of government resources against Democratic legislators in Texas and improperly raising campaign contributions.

"What we are beginning to see is a clear pattern of misconduct," Bell said.

Click here for the rest.

Oh, how I hope they nail him!

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