Though the indictment of Rep. Tom DeLay wasn’t a complete surprise, you could hardly exaggerate the shockwave that moved across Washington yesterday. In the span of a week, leaders of both houses of Congress have come under a cloud for alleged ethical lapses.
Last week, securities investigators said they were looking into whether a stock sale by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was the result of illegal insider trading. Then yesterday a Texas grand jury indicted DeLay, the House majority leader, on a charge of criminal conspiracy. Both Frist and DeLay denied any wrongdoing. We were glad to see DeLay step aside from his leadership post until the case is resolved. That’s the rule of the House, but DeLay devotees had tried previously to weaken the requirement.
While there should not be a rush to judgment, a cascade of recent investigations prompts concerns that the Republican establishment has grown arrogant. Last week, the top procurement official in the Office of Management and Budget, David Safavian, resigned after being arrested for allegedly obstructing a Justice Department probe of his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Abramoff, a DeLay buddy, was indicted by a U.S. grand jury in August on wire fraud and conspiracy.
Before Safavian resigned, he reportedly was working on contracting policies for Hurricane Katrina recovery. Already there have been reports about companies such as Halliburton and firms associated with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour being awarded lucrative no-bid contracts. Richard L. Skinner, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, told The New York Times that 60 members of his staff were examining Hurricane Katrina contracts. “We are very apprehensive about what we are seeing,” he said.
DeLay has been in hot water before – he was admonished three times last year by the bipartisan House ethics committee. If found guilty, the Texas congressman faces up to two years in state prison and a $10,000 fine on a single charge of criminal conspiracy. The charge stems from an investigation into the alleged use of illegal corporate contributions by a DeLay political action committee in the 2002 races for the state House of Representatives. Funds raised by DeLay’s group helped Republicans take legislative control in Texas, where redistricting added to the GOP congressional majority.
Frist, DeLay, Safavian, Abramoff, non-competitive federal contracts – all are unfortunate distractions at a time when so much important work is piling up in Washington on hurricane recovery, Iraq and rapidly rising gas and oil prices.
