Tom DeLay, the power of Hoodoo

Washington -- The 109th Congress opened with a partisan fight Tuesday, as Republicans pushed through a rule change that will make it much more difficult for the House to investigate potential ethical violations of its members.

The rule change approved Tuesday will make it more difficult for the Ethics Committee to begin a formal investigation of a complaint. It was adopted 220-195 as part of the overall rules that will govern the House over the next two years.

Currently, if the committee hasn't acted within 45 days of a complaint, the case automatically goes to investigators. It was just such a procedure that led to the investigations of DeLay, a prodigious fund-raiser known for maintaining iron discipline in the Republican caucus.

Those investigations resulted in committee letters of admonishment to DeLay in cases involving fund-raising; lobbying a Republican House member to change his vote against the Medicare drug benefit bill; and his effort last year to use the Federal Aviation Administration to find Democratic Texas state legislators who flew out of their state to stall action on a DeLay-inspired redistricting plan.
The Republicans also decided to drop a change to their caucus rules they made in November that would have allowed GOP leaders to keep their party leadership posts even if they are indicted for crimes. Three DeLay associates have been indicted in Texas in a fund-raising scandal, and rumors persist that DeLay also may be charged. DeLay himself proposed the reversal in a closed- door caucus meeting Monday evening.