Major DeLay Excuse Debunked
Major DeLay Excuse Debunked
Tom DeLay’s defense of his trips to South Korea and the UK, both allegedly funded by registered lobbyists in violation of House rules, is that as far as he knew, the expenses were properly paid by a nonprofit organization, the National Center for Public Policy Research. He claims whatever funds the lobbyists gave over to NCPPR to cover his trips are not his responsibility. In DeLay’s own words, “I can’t – no Member can be responsible for going into the bowels of researching what this organization, how it gets its money or how it’s funded.”
But according to today’s Washington Post, not only can House members be responsible for such information — they’re obligated to be responsible:
House ethics rules contain detailed provisions barring the acceptance of any travel funds from private sources if doing so would “create the appearance of using public office for private gain.” They also obligate lawmakers to “make inquiry on the source of the funds that will be used to pay” for any travel ostensibly financed by a nonprofit organization — to rule out the acceptance of reimbursements that come from one organization when a trip is “in fact organized and conducted by someone else.”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
There isn’t anything in the Post article that suggests DeLay didn’t make an inquiry as required by the House rules. That’s a fact.
April 24th, 2005 at 12:33 pmRickB:
You’re right about the story not suggesting that “DeLay didn’t make an inquiry as required by the House rules.” That suggestion comes from DeLay’s own comment that “no Member can be responsible for going into the bowels of researching what this organization, how it gets its money.” He said that in response to questions about the trips–do you really think he’d have failed to mention that he had made an inquiry?
Even more importantly, the Wash. Post story, if the facts are true, makes an inquiry irrelevant. The real importance of the story is that it shows that some expenses were paid by a lobbyist, which the House rules prohibit EVEN IF THE EXPENSES ARE LATER REOMBURED. From the Post story:
(1) “House rules prohibit accepting travel and related expenses from registered lobbyists.”
(2) “The documents obtained by The Washington Post…substantiate for the first time that some of DeLay’s expenses on the trip were billed to charge cards used by the two lobbyists. House rules do not exempt such nonprofit organization board members from the prohibition on lobbyist payments for travel. They also state that this prohibition “applies even where the lobbyist . . . will later be reimbursed for those expenses by a non-lobbyist client.”
In other words, even had he made some inquiry before the trip, allowing the lobbyist to pay the expenses initially violates House rules even if DeLay could establish evidence that he thought the lobbyist would be paid back by a non-lobbyist organization.
April 24th, 2005 at 1:45 pmDeLay is worth much more alive than dead. he cant do any damage when he’s dead. i hope he fights like crazy, and cheney and bush and rove keep defending him loudly and often.
April 25th, 2005 at 2:13 amThanks for playing RickB, back to your alphabet soup…. Thanks for pointing out that insubstantial “fact”. Don’t worry about the substance of the violations, just that he “may” have abided by a rule in making an inquiry.
April 25th, 2005 at 10:01 amDoes anyone know if ,according to a highlevel Republican, some democrats have done the same thing as Mr. Delay is accused of?
April 25th, 2005 at 10:36 amPerhaps but noone has done it with the rigor and the amount of sleaze that tom delay has. He is the symbolic representation of corrupt politics. There’s a great photo of him with a lobbyist lighting his cigar. He’s the poster for the liberals new opening to a platform. They’re going to put together a group of opponents that are as crisp and clean as possible and then use delay as an example of republican behavior. I agree with Lukery. Delay is worth more politically as he stays around holding up guns and smoking cigars and looking the part of the classic dirty politician. It’s an image I want to see him develope for the entire GOP.
April 25th, 2005 at 12:08 pmMr. Delay’s moral and political corruption is in direct conflict with his self-serving pronouncements on the moral superiority of “people of faith” .
April 25th, 2005 at 2:33 pmJason’s response to Comment # 6, by Lisa, asking if dems have done the same as Delay, needs further discussion. I don’t know Lisa’s political leanings, but, let’s assume her question is an attempt to undermine arguments in favor of prosecuting Delay by distracting from the issue at hand. First, I’m sure Dems have done similarly sleazy things, politicians are human beings, second, if I get robbed by a guy at gunpoint does that mean I shouldn’t want him punished because other people have committed robbery at gunpoint? Lisa’s question is a standard tool employed by manipulative politicos who want to change the subject. If you find a democrat who is doing the same kind of thing as Delay regarding taking lobbyist money, then, hats off, go after him or her. Corrupt is corrupt whether it GOP or the donkey.
April 25th, 2005 at 10:40 pmIt really sounds like the National Center for Public Policy Research is something of a money laundering operation for such shenanigans.
It also seems that the trips are the least of DeLay’s crimes.
Bribing a member of Congress (the frighteningly stupid Nick Smith) right on the House floor has got to be some sort of actual crime.
If I recall wasn’t it DeLay who was involved in the Westar fiasco?
April 26th, 2005 at 4:32 amWhile I agree that Delay can and will do more damage alive than dead (politically speaking), I’m more concerned about our country than about gaining political advantage. Keeping this sleeze bag in office, for even another day, holds dangers for the nation that are far worse than his ethical lapses have been so far. Defunding the courts comes to mind for one.
April 26th, 2005 at 4:17 pmi’m seriousely considering mailing delay a small length of rope w/ a note attached note “here’s just enough rope….you know what to do with it…”
he’s toast, but i am enjoying his duplicitious actions and the confederacy of dunces that defend his every move.
hang in there tom…. (key word…”hang”)
April 26th, 2005 at 5:09 pmdiet loss pill supplement
You are invited to take a look at some helpful info dedicated to systematic amphetamine diet pill
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:43 pmleicht verdienen
You are invited to take a look at some information dedicated to gambling kasinos
October 17th, 2005 at 4:27 amhoodia gordonii
Please visit some relevant pages dedicated to xenical diet pill weight loss pills
November 18th, 2005 at 11:14 pmpredilections.chanted abets Lena abbreviating quarantining fret,
September 6th, 2006 at 7:09 amweight gaining diet
Still, I believe some people (like me) think in different way regarding this topic
March 14th, 2008 at 5:39 am