"We respect Congressman DeLay's decision to put the interests of the American people, the House of Representatives and the Republican Party first,"
But CIC Bush43 so far has only returned about $6000 of the over $100,000 its "Pioneer" Abramoff arranged to be contributed to the CIC Bush43 re-election campaign. Guess returning the rest would be a bit dangerous because Abramoff consolidated contributions from several other persons and their identities would be exposed if the monies were returned. DeLay blames his troubles on Democrats but I did not know Abramoff had registered with the DNC. David Bier http://english.epochtimes.com/news/6-1-7/36640.html DeLay Relinquishes House Majority Leader Post Jan 07, 2006 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, now under indictment in Texas and tainted by a corruption scandal, told fellow House of Representatives Republicans on Saturday that he will not try to reclaim his job as majority leader. "Today I have asked Speaker (Dennis) Hastert to convene our conference for the purpose of electing a new majority leader," DeLay, a close ally of President George W. Bush and one of the most powerful conservatives in Congress, said in a letter to House Republican leaders. DeLay's decision to resign after three years of tumultuous reign as majority leader set off a scramble among at least a handful of Republicans who want to capture the second most powerful post in the House. Whoever wins will face the difficult job of steering the party past the influence-peddling scandal involving Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff that has rocked Washington just as all 435 members of the House gear up for November elections. Abramoff earlier this week pleaded guilty to fraud charges and admitted that he gave golf trips, sports tickets and other gifts to lawmakers in return for special treatment. His potential cooperation with federal investigators left lawmakers rattled and many returned campaign contributions from Abramoff clients. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said DeLay had "engineered" a "culture of corruption ... so pervasive in the Republican conference that a single person stepping down is not nearly enough to clean up the Republican Congress." The White House, which earlier in the week said it would be shedding some Abramoff campaign contributions, supported DeLay's action. "We respect Congressman DeLay's decision to put the interests of the American people, the House of Representatives and the Republican Party first," said spokeswoman Erin Healy. House Job Open Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt of Missouri is expected to seek DeLay's job on a more permanent basis. Blunt took over the job in September when DeLay was forced to temporarily resign after being indicted in Texas in a campaign finance case. Those charges were unrelated to the Abramoff scandal. At the time, DeLay insisted that he would be cleared in the Texas case and would retake the powerful majority leader job. Ohio Republican John Boehner, chairman of an education and labor committee, is also expected to mount a strong challenge for majority leader. Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said the elections likely will held during the week of January 31 when the House reconvenes after a long winter break. Some House Republicans have talked about the need to elect all new leaders, but key lawmakers this week said they did not think Hastert would be challenged. DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said that the 58-year-old Texan, known around Washington as "The Hammer" for his tight control of the House and ability to vanquish political opponents, will retain his seat in the House and is "running for re-election." DeLay's decision to leave the Republican leadership came after a group of moderate and conservative House Republicans abandoned their leader and called for elections to replace him. DeLay's support among rank-and-file Republicans evaporated after Abramoff's guilty pleas this week. At least two former aides of DeLay are entangled in the Abramoff scandal and DeLay has referred to the former lobbyist as a close friend. In his resignation letter, DeLay said he had "always acted in an ethical manner within the rules of our body and the laws of our land. I am fully confident time will bear this out." DeLay, who has blamed his legal troubles on partisan Democrats, said he "cannot allow our adversaries to divide and distract our attention" from legislative work. -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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