Ethics Panel Takes Up Bell’s DeLay Complaint

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/49_143/news/6019-1.html (subscription required)

The House ethics committee on Tuesday formally accepted an ethics complaint filed by Rep. Chris Bell (D-Texas) against Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), marking the first step in deciding whether the panel will actually investigate Bell’s allegations against the powerful Texas lawmaker.

Reps. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) and Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct’s chairman and ranking member, respectively, now have several options for resolving Bell’s complaint.

Hefley and Mollohan can recommend to the full committee that Bell’s complaint be dismissed in whole or in part. Alternately, they could send a letter to DeLay admonishing or cautioning him on his activities, or else set up an investigative subcommittee to conduct a formal probe of the charges. Or they could ask for more time to study the complaint before taking action.

Hefley and Mollohan have five legislative days or 45 calendar days to make a decision on their recommendation, and they can ask for another 45 days to act. If no decision is reached by then, committee rules require that an investigative subcommittee be established, although either Hefley and Mollohan can move at any time to place a request for an investigative subcommittee on the full committee’s agenda, at which point one would be created only if a majority of the bipartisan, 10-member panel agrees.

[NMDemDist2]

1. cool, it's a start n/t

[lovedems]

2. Given the possible indictment in Texas, I don't see how the repubs

can wiggle their way out of this one.

That doesn't mean that they won't but they did a segment on DeLay on NOW with Bill Moyers and it looks like DeLay is in trouble.

I republicans are a creatively sleazy group so who knows if they will investigate or not. :shrug:

[LittleApple81]

3. I saw on C-Span (WashJnl) like 2 days ago, that they didn't let

Bell put anything in a document that circulates in the House, something like "for your info" for all representatives. He was furious about it, especially because the democrats joined the republicans in not letting him do it. THERE MUST BE A LOT OF DIRTY LINENS on both sides of the aisle...

[Sugarbleus]

4. Yeah, I heard something about him being a lame duck

Rep and not entitled to bring charges blah blah...then one of the republicans stood up for him and said there was no reason he couldn't go ahead and bring the charges, even if he was on his way out.

So, we shall see. Bell said he knew the repugs would strike up their defense/attack machine to go after him. I hope Bell's charges go through because Delay is rotten to the core and needs to be bounced outta there onto his pointy concrete head!!

Some Dems aren't exactly liberals, thankfully most are on our(the peoples) side. In any case, How are we going to get the congress back? We need that to happen if we expect things to really change!

[NewJerseyDem]

5. That was a proposal by Ray LaHood

He wanted to ban lameduck congressmen from filing ethics complaints but that was shot down by many republicans who just think that is really idiotic. LaHood's amendment was defeated in the Legislative Approprations subcommittee because Mark Kirk (R-IL) joined with democrats to defeat it.

Also, Bell tried to write a "Dear Colleague" letter to his fellow congressmen which is apparently very commonly done. However, the House Administration committee said it violated the rules. I'm not entirely sure what the rules are on those letters so it is possible that the rules prohibit any letter that his excessively critical of other members or something like that in which case Bell's letter would be prohibited.

[Sugarbleus]

6. Got it thanks... I hope Bell can go forward somehow...n/t