GOP Members of Ethics Committee on Delay payroll

Tom Delay will finally be investigated! Yay! Oh, wait a minute...half the people on the committee doing the investigating are on Delay's payroll.

Challenges for a Panel in Taking Up DeLay Case

Some Democrats and advocacy groups say the Republicans on the evenly divided committee should step aside, because they have all received money from Mr. DeLay's political organization or, in two cases, contributed to his defense fund.

Representative Joel Hefley, the Colorado Republican whom Mr. Hastert removed from the chairmanship this year, acknowledges that the Republicans have a perception problem because of the financial exchanges. But Mr. Hefley and other committee veterans say that in the past they have found that members can put aside their political interests and arrive at a fair conclusion.

"They are people of good character," Mr. Hefley said. "I think they will do a good job if they get into an investigation."

What do you want to bet that after all they make a show of investigating Delay that they slap him on the knuckles and send him back to work? Note to the Mr. Hefley: You have more than a "perception" problem. You have a real, live conflict of interest. Wouldn't anybody with a smidgen of common sense recuse thmeselves?