http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05143/508902.stm
'I don't think I'm prejudging him,' Democratic leader says
Monday, May 23, 2005
By Alan C. Miller, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON -- Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean said yesterday that "there's a reasonable chance" embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, "may end up in jail."
Dean, who came under fire as a Democratic presidential candidate last year because he insisted that Osama bin Laden should not be prejudged, said DeLay had already been admonished three times by the House ethics committee for his political tactics and faces a new inquiry to determine whether he broke House rules by taking overseas trips financed by lobbyists. He has not been charged with any crime.
"I don't think I'm prejudging him," Dean said during an hourlong interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." Referring to actions for which DeLay is under investigation, he said, "I think there's a reasonable chance that this may end up in jail. And I don't think people ought to do these kinds of things in public service."
This was not the first time that Dean had made such statements. The onetime Vermont governor, who was elected party chairman in February, told the Massachusetts state Democratic convention two weeks ago that DeLay "ought to go back to Houston, where he can serve his jail sentence down there courtesy of the Texas taxpayers."
Dean's remarks yesterday on NBC prompted a derisive response from DeLay's spokesman.
"Leading a party with no ideas, no solutions, and no agenda, Howard Dean's latest antics, which previously earned a rebuke from his own party, shows the sad state the Democrats have sunk to," said Dan Allen, DeLay's press secretary.
Allen was referring to comments by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., himself a frequent DeLay critic, who said after Dean's Massachusetts appearance that it was wrong for the party chairman to talk about the House's second-ranking leader "as a criminal" or make reference to "his jail sentence."
DeLay, who has said he is looking forward to proving his innocence, has asserted that the Democrats and the media have targeted him in an effort to undermine the conservative agenda.
The trips in question include a 10-day visit to England and Scotland in 2000 arranged by Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist with close ties to DeLay who is under investigation for his representation of American Indian tribes that paid him tens of millions of dollars. DeLay's attorney has said the lawmaker believed the trip was paid for by a conservative think tank and not by lobbyists.
House ethics rules prohibit lawmakers from allowing lobbyists to pay their expenses.
During his presidential candidacy last year, Dean refused to say whether bin Laden should be tried in the United States and executed as a terrorist. He said bin Laden was "very likely to be found guilty," but added, "We should do our best to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials."
Dean and the Democrats have made no secret of their intent to exploit the political and ethical controversies surrounding DeLay in the 2006 midterm elections.
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Your lips to God's ear Dr. Dean!