Republicans Anonymous

Atrios just brightened up my weekend with a story of Tom Delay's values:

The National Journal’s Peter Stone tore open the DeLay fundraising scandal in a Saturday exclusive printed Friday, RAW STORY has learned.

The prominent lawyer and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is being investigated by federal authorities for his lobbying efforts of an Indian tribe and his relations with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), paid for DeLay and DeLay’s staff’s stay in an expensive London hotel in mid-2000.
...
“Among the big-ticket expenses that Abramoff listed for reimbursement was a bill for the DeLays at the Four Seasons Hotel in London in the amount of $4,285.35,” Stone writes. “The voucher shows that the total reimbursement for expenses was $13,318.50
...
The Journal will also report that a little known conservative thinktank on whose board Abramoff served paid for another facet of the same trip. The Center for National Publicy Policy research picked up a hefty $70,000 tab–including $28,000 for DeLay and his wife, and $28,000 for DeLay’s then-chief of staff.

Stone hammers out a damning quote from a former senior Republican aide.

“To the casual observer, it was a pretty simple deal,” a former House leadership aide told the Journal. “Jack raised money for the pet projects of DeLay and took care of his top staff. In turn, they granted him tremendous access and allowed him to freely trade on DeLay’s name.”

DeLay’s press secretary, Dan Allen, told the Journal the congressman had done nothing improper.
Source: The Raw Story (Emphasis added)

It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out before the House Ethics (Or Lack Thereof) Committee. Mr. DeLay's initial defense seems to be a version of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": Mr. DeLay never ASKED how much it was costing to be flown to London and housed in a luxury hotel, and the lobbist didn't TELL him how much it cost - so no duty to report.