Yahoo! News - DeLay Supporters Move to Protect His Spot: “Supporters of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay proposed a Republican rules change Tuesday that would protect the Texan’s leadership position if he were to be indicted by a Texas grand jury that already charged three of his associates.
House Republicans are likely to approve Wednesday the change in the rule that would force him to step aside if indicted. The show of support would be an endorsement of DeLay’s position that the Travis County investigation is a partisan attack.
Currently, rules of the House Republican Conference, which comprises all House GOP members, requires leaders to resign the party post if they are indicted for a felony punishable by two or more years in jail. The proposed change would eliminate the step-aside requirement for nonfederal indictments.
The Texas grand jury is investigating alleged campaign finance irregularities in 2002 state legislative races. Republican victories in those contests enabled DeLay ultimately to win support for a congressional redistricting plan that resulted in the GOP’s gain of five seats in this month’s elections.”
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