DeLay Acknowledges Failure to Report Money

OK, now DeLay's story is working its way past troubling and around the backside into funny.

Rep. Tom DeLay has notified House officials that he failed to disclose all contributions to his legal defense fund as required by congressional rules.

The fund is currently paying DeLay's legal bills in a campaign finance investigation in Texas, where DeLay has been indicted, and in a federal investigation of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The lobbyist arranged foreign travel for DeLay and had his clients pay some of the cost.

DeLay, R-Texas, has denied wrongdoing in both cases.

DeLay wrote House officials that he started an audit and it found that $20,850 contributed in 2000 and 2001 to the defense fund was not reported anywhere.

An additional $17,300 was included in the defense fund's quarterly report but not in DeLay's 2000 annual financial disclosure report — a separate requirement. Other donations were understated as totaling $2,800 when the figure should have been $4,450.

Two things of note here. First is the fact that his malfeasance is so hardwired that even his legal defense fund is illegal. Second, he was salting away a legal defense fund five years ago? As best I can tell the TRMPAC troubles date from no earlier than 2002.

None of my friends have earmarked legal defense funds. Then again, none of my friends are Congresspersons. Is this SOP for all who sit in Congress? All Republicans? Or just all the Republicans who know they are so dirty that they are eventually going to get caught?