The House ethics committee on Thursday hired Washington lawyer William O'Reilly as staff director and chief counsel, a decision that will allow the panel to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay's travel and the conduct of other lawmakers.
But O'Reilly's hiring late in the year makes it virtually certain that the committee will not conduct any major investigations until 2006. O'Reilly told reporters he will start work no later than Jan. 1. The committee's chairman, Rep. Doc Hastings (news, bio, voting record), R-Wash., and the top Democrat, Rep. Alan Mollohan (news, bio, voting record) of West Virginia, said several investigators still need to be hired.
The committee essentially was shut down for months this year during disputes over investigative rules, and then spent several more months trying to fill the top staff job. More than 80 people applied, Hastings and Mollohan said. O'Reilly, a partner at the firm of Jones Day, currently is lead defense counsel in several price-fixing cases. He also has represented defendants in antitrust and environmental cases.
DeLay asked the committee to conduct an inquiry into his travel, after news stories revealed that some of the expenses were paid by a lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, and his clients. DeLay, R-Texas, denied knowledge of such payments and insisted he did nothing wrong.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051103/ap_on_go_co/house_ethics_1defended RJ Reynolds
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