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Opinion
Editorial: DeLay's shady ethics catching up to him


"It's taken too long, but House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's shady ethics may finally be catching up to him. For the second time in less than a week, the previously somnolent House ethics committee has rebuked the Texas Republican. This time it admonished Mr. DeLay for holding a golf fundraiser for energy companies just as the House was to consider energy legislation and for drafting Federal Aviation Administration officials to look for fleeing Texas state legislators -- Democrats who were foiling Mr. DeLay's plan to redistrict the state and thereby cement his party's hold on the House. Last week, the committee rebuked Mr. DeLay for offering to endorse the son of retiring Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) in exchange for Mr. Smith's vote on the Medicare prescription drug bill.

Meanwhile federal prosecutors and congressional committees are looking into the activities of two DeLay allies -- his former communications director, Michael Scanlon, and a lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, who parlayed their close ties to the majority leader into millions in fees from Indian tribes."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Tom DeLay, Ethical Recidivist (The Washington Post 10/8)
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