Long-time readers will no doubt recall the fun we’ve had with Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.). He’s the conservative Republican lawmaker who was offered, by his own account, $100,000 in campaign support for his son in exchange for his vote on Bush’s Medicare scheme last November. (For the record, Smith declined the bribe and voted against it.)<\/p>\n
Of course, since offering public officials bribes is a felony, Smith’s claims generated considerable controversy. In March, the House ethics committee took up the matter<\/a>, promising a full investigation with Smith’s cooperation. Since then, we’ve heard nothing about who was responsible for the attempted bribe.<\/p>\n Yesterday, however, we learned that the committee probe uncovered the culprit<\/a> — America’s most criminally corrupt lawmaker, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.<\/p>\n The House ethics committee admonished Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) last night for offering a political favor to a Michigan lawmaker in exchange for the member’s vote on last year’s hard-fought Medicare prescription drug bill.<\/p>\n After a six-month investigation, the committee concluded that DeLay had told Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) he would endorse the congressional bid of Smith’s son if the congressman gave GOP leaders a much-needed vote in a contentious pre-dawn roll call on Nov. 22.<\/p>\n “This conduct could support a finding that . . . DeLay violated House rules,” the committee said in its 62-page report. “. . . It is improper for a member to offer or link support for the personal interests of another member as part of a quid pro quo to achieve a legislative goal.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This fails to resolve nearly all<\/i> of the relevant questions. The next day, Smith’s congressional office issued a statement<\/a> saying he had received “significant promises for help” for his son’s campaign in exchange for his vote on the bill. In addition, when Robert Novak initially reported on the $100,000 bribe Smith was offered, Smith’s chief of staff, Kurt Schmautz, said Novak’s account of what happened is “basically accurate<\/a>.” The House ethics committee seems to have dismissed the real crime, focusing instead on DeLay’s threat to intervene in Smith’s son’s Michigan primary.<\/p>\n Worse, the committee’s conclusion that DeLay “violated House rules” is effectively meaningless — there’s no punishment for the violation.<\/p>\n The committee said the report “will serve as a public admonishment” of DeLay…. The ethics panel, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, said it would take no further action in the case.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, DeLay can offer bribes on the House floor and the ethics committee is satisfied with sending him a stern note. (It’ll probably go in his permanent file, which will follow him the rest of his life…)<\/p>\n
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\nThe attempted bribe went well beyond just “a political favor” and endorsements. This is about cash. Smith wrote a column<\/a> for a Michigan newspaper, for example, the day after the Nov. 22 House vote on the bill in which he said, “Bribes and special deals were offered to convince members to vote yes.” Smith added, “I was targeted by lobbyists and the congressional leadership to change my vote…Other members and groups made offers of extensive financial campaign support and endorsements for my son.” <\/p>\n