House Ethics Committee "Admonishes" DeLay 2nd Time

By the ethics rules of the U.S. House, I believe three "admonishments" equal one light tap on the wrist, so Tom DeLay had better tread lightly!

Last night (the Ethics Committee always seems to prefer the deepest dark to collectively clear its throat), the House Ethics Committee (five gutless wonders from each party) "admonished" Tom DeLay for the second time in a week, "this time for appearing to link legislative action to political donations and for sending federal officials to search for Texas legislators during a fracas over redistricting in that state." (NYTimes article today.)

Here's what passes for a "stern warning" from the House Ethics Committee: "In view of the number of instances to date in which the committee has found it necessary to comment on conduct in which you have engaged, it is clearly necessary for you to temper your future actions," the panel wrote.

When we were in second grade, we could have figgered out the meaning of that. "Don't get caught again."

There's a third allegation against DeLay pending in the Ethics Committee, but the committee will probably wait for a federal grand jury, also looking into the matter, to go first. At least the federal grand jury isn't constrained by the back-scratching practiced by our esteemed legislative guardians.