http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3163237<snip>
House investigators will face their own challenges, including the need to work around a federal criminal investigation that could limit their access to witnesses and documents.
But even an outside counsel could find it tough to delve too deeply into the case without colliding with FBI agents and federal prosecutors who are investigating Abramoff.
Witnesses like Abramoff likely could not receive any form of immunity to testify by the committee without compromising the federal investigation. That lesson was learned when some convictions in the Iran-Contra scandal were overturned by federal courts because congressional immunity had been given to those convicted.
Still, DeLay has reason to be nervous, experts said. "These investigations have a habit of taking on a life of their own," said Noble. "That must worry DeLay."