WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The White House is standing behind Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who was indicted for violating Texas campaign finance law.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President George Bush was resting his faith in the judicial system.
"The president considers him a good ally and a friend who we have worked with very closely to get things done for the American people," McClellan said.
For three years Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has been trying to prove that DeLay and two political associates funneled corporate money into state legislative campaigns, which is illegal in Texas.
"I have done nothing wrong," DeLay said, calling Earle "a partisan fanatic" who carried out the investigation for political reasons.
DeLay is the first House majority leader indicted since the post was created in 1899.
If convicted, DeLay could be sentenced to two years in prison. Party rules forced DeLay to give up his House leadership role, replaced by Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri.
