Blue Mass Group

The NY Times very helpfully printed out the House ethics rules today, along with more on DeLay’s latest Abramoff bombshells. (It’s a carpet-bombing, at this point.) Let’s just put two and two together, and agree that it makes four: The Washington Post reported on Sunday that it hadobtained travel receipts showing that [lobbyist Jack] Abramoff’s personal creditcard had been used to pay $6,938 for Mr. DeLay’s airfare to and fromBritain, suggesting a possible violation of House ethics rules, whichbar lobbyists from paying for a lawmaker’s travels. It had beenpreviously disclosed that Mr. Abramoff had paid part of Mr. DeLay’shotel bill. Mr. DeLay’s lawyer denied impropriety. And now for the rule: A member, officer or employee may accept necessary expenses from aprivate source for travel in connection with official duties -including, for example, to give a speech or engage in fact-finding -subject to the following restrictions. ¶The source of the travel expenses may not be either a registeredlobbyist or a registered foreign agent, and the source must have adirect and immediate relationship with the event or location beingvisited. The prosecution rests, Your Honor.