GOP Rule Could Force DeLay Aside [View All]

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/49_99/news/4908-1.html (subscription required)

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) has begun quiet discussions with a handful of colleagues about the possibility that he will have to step down from his leadership post temporarily if he is indicted by a Texas grand jury investigating alleged campaign finance abuses.

The probe, which is being conducted by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, centers on whether Texans for a Republican Majority, a group and its affiliated political action committee started by DeLay, broke a Texas law prohibiting the use of corporate donations in political campaigns during the 2002 state legislative elections.

Republican Conference rules state that a member of the elected leadership who has been indicted on a felony carrying a penalty of at least two years in prison must temporarily step down from the post. He or she may return to the job if found not guilty or if the charges are reduced below a felony or dismissed.

With an increasing amount of press attention on the Texas investigation, a handful of Republican Members have approached DeLay in recent weeks to commiserate and offer their support. Some have also begun pondering how the Conference should proceed if DeLay is forced to temporarily vacate the Majority Leader post.