May 10, 2005

11 May 2005 // Washington, DC - According to Congressional Quarterly Today, Representative Melissa Hart (R-PA) is one of 30 members of the House of Representatives who purchased either an individual ticket or a table to the American Conservative Union dinner on Thursday to defend ethically-challenged Majority Leader Tom Delay.

Representative Hart was tapped earlier this year to serve on the House ethics committee, and chosen to head-up the investigation into DeLay’s ethics violations with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and payments to his family with his campaign funds.

This is not Representative Hart’s only link to DeLay She previously had received $15,000 from DeLay’s political action committee and held a fund-raiser at a restaurant owned by Jack Abramoff.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) responded to Rep. Hart’s decision to purchase tickets to DeLay’s defense dinner:

“Buying a ticket to a DeLay defense dinner only confirms what we already know, the Congresswoman is not capable of sitting as an impartial judge in considering Mr. DeLay’s ethical transgressions ,” Melanie Sloan, executive Director of CREW said today. “She has again proven that her loyalty to Mr. DeLay trumps any purported claim of objectivity. Her leading this ‘investigation’ into Mr. DeLay only further proves that the ethics committee, in its current form, is a kangaroo court. Representative Hart should be removed from the committee immediately and replaced by a member who is not beholden to Mr. DeLay. This is further evidence that an outside counsel is required to investigate Mr. DeLay’s activities.”

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For more information on CREW please contact Naomi Seligman by phone at 202.588.5565 or press@citizensforethics.org.

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