Reply #19: House GOP aides admit they will likely modify ethics rules...

[rawstory]

LEAKED: WASHINGTON POST TUESDAY:

HOUSE GOP AIDES ADMIT THEY WILL LIKELY MODIFY ETHICS RULES

"Members of Congress are rushing to amend their travel and campaign records, fearing that the controversy over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will trigger an ethics war that will bring greater scrutiny to their own travel and official activities," The WASHINGTON POST'S Mike Allen reports Tuesday.

Excerpts follow.

"Some offices have sharply limited staff travel, and some members are not traveling at all because of the intense review they believe they will face in coming months.

"Lawmakers are paying old restaurant bills, filing missing forms and correcting erroneous ones as journalists and political opponents comb through records and DeLay, R-Texas, attempts to answer questions about travel financing and his past relationships with lobbyists.

House Republican aides said Monday for the first time that they believe they will have to reverse or modify the ethics rules that were passed on a party-line vote in January and have caused Democrats to refuse to allow the ethics committee to organize. Republican leaders had been trying to avoid a new floor vote over the rules, but aides said they now are convinced that they need to get the committee going so that Democrats cannot accuse them of squelching an investigation of DeLay.

Will link with WaPO story when live... (hopefully soon)

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/HOUSE_GOP_AIDES_SAY_ETHICS_RULES_CHANGE_LIKELY...._DEVELOPING...._04_25_2005_1124pm.html