DeLay Delay?

9 Jun 2005 // Tom DeLay is accusing Nancy Pelosi of purposely blocking the ethics committee from functioning in order to drag out an expected inquiry into DeLay until close to next year's election.

"Democrats are playing politics," DeLay told reporters yesterday in his weekly off-camera press conference. "Back when I had an ethics charge against me it was filed with great timing so, as the process worked out, the decision by the ethics committee comes out two weeks before my re-election. The same thing is going on here but no on seems to want to notice."

Committee Democrats are balking at a decision by Rep. Doc Hastings, the new Republican chairman of the committee, to hire separate GOP and Democratic staff directors who will steer the investigations of DeLay and any other lawmakers who might have a case before the panel. Democrats insist the staffs be non-partisan which they say will assure objectivity.

"Getting into staff and who's for whom and who would be whom, that is all politics," DeLay said.
"They don't want an ethics committee for several reasons, not the least of which is they would like to drag this out and have me and others before the ethics committee in an election year."

Pelosi, the minority leader, "has been personally involved in this process, which is unprecedented. And [DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel] has been personally involved in this process. It just proves the fact of what we've been saying -- they're politicizing the ethics process, which I think is incredibly unfortunate and undermines the integrity of this institution."

"DeLay's comments show he just doesn't get it," responded Jennifer Crider, Pelosi's press secretary. "The ethics rules, including the non-partisan professional staff rules, are rules of the House. Republicans can't just throw them out on a whim. They've got to follow them and that's what Democrats are pushing for."

Crider said Pelosi, as minority leader, is only involved in making sure the committee is up and running and is not getting involved in the specifics of the complaint against DeLay.