INDICTED DELAY CONSULTANT GETS MONEY FROM BLUNT

Roy Dean Blunt is majority leader of the House of Representatives -- for now. But now that Tom DeLay is ready for his mugshot and fingerprinting, Blunt may want to think about cutting his ties to his former boss. The malignancy that took down DeLay also threatens Blunt, and in a big way.

As The Associated Press notes:

The political committee of Rep. Roy Blunt who is temporarily replacing Rep. Tom DeLay as House majority leader, has paid roughly $88,000 in fees since 2003 to a consultant under indictment in Texas with DeLay, according to federal records.

Keri Ann Hayes, executive director of the Rely on Your Beliefs Fund, said the organization has been has been satisfied with the work done by Jim Ellis, but has not discussed whether he will be retained.

"We haven't had that conversation," she said. So far, she added, Ellis' indictment had no impact on his work.

Records on file with the Federal Election Commission show the fund linked to Blunt retains Ellis' firm, J.W. Ellis Co., and has made periodic payments for services. Political Money Line, a nonpartisan Internet tracking service, places the total at about $88,000

Blunt's supporters may try to claim this is no big deal, innocent until proven guilty, blah blah blah, all that noise. They did not waste time on any such legal niceties when Jim Wright and Tom Foley were Democratic speakers under attack. They didn't try to mitigate when Bill Clinton was accused of getting a blowjob in the White House. All they cared about was "the rule of law." Now, when that rule bites them in the ass, they don't want to discuss it.

Tom DeLay was, and is, crooked. His chief worker bee, Roy Blunt, ain't Snow White, either.