Texas Indictments Make DeLay Ethics Investigation More Urgent ...via usnewswire

WASHINGTON: The Congressional Ethics Coalition, an ideologically diverse coalition of eight leading government reform organizations, released the following statement regarding the indictment of several top aides to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. The Coalition is working for meaningful reform of congressional ethics oversight rules.

The coalition members are the Campaign Legal Center, the Center for Responsive Politics, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, Common Cause, Democracy 21, Judicial Watch, Public Campaign and Public Citizen.

"The indictment of three top aides to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) makes it even more urgent for the House Ethics Committee to investigate whether Mr. DeLay played a role in allegedly illegal fundraising by committees he directly controlled.

"The Ethics Committee has a clear responsibility to investigate whether Mr. DeLay violated ethics rules in the course of his leadership of TRMPAC and ARMPAC, both of which are the subject of the criminal indictments announced yesterday in Texas.