DeLay blames politics for his indictment

Texas Republican Tom DeLay 'temporarily' stepped down from the leadership post that he had held since 2002, as required by House rules.

As a sign of loyalty to DeLay after the grand jury returned indictments against three of his associates, House Republicans last November repealed a rule requiring any of their leaders to step aside if indicted. The rule was reinstituted in January after lawmakers returned to Washington from the holidays fearing the repeal might create a backlash from voters.

DeLay, who is known as 'the Hammer' for his ability to pound out Republican majorities on tough votes, is accused of laundering funds into his political action committee 'Texans for a Republican Majority.' Ironically, DeLay blamed the indictment on "partisan politics" and called the prosecutor a "partisan fanatic."

I am very much for open and transparent government, and so is Tom DeLay, it seems:

"I wish they could have been a fly on the wall" he said of Democrats and a closed-door GOP meeting.

DeLay also said the charges amounted to "one of the weakest and most baseless indictments in American history."

Scott McClellan called DeLay "a good ally, a leader who we have worked closely with to get things done for the American people." Asked about Republican corruption in general, McClellan
said the Republican Party has made policy that has improved the lives of Americans, and the White House stands by that record.

Asked when DeLay would turn himself in, DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin said, "I'm going to keep from having Tom DeLay taken down in handcuffs, photographed and fingerprinted. That's uncalled for."

Quotes are from Yahoo News