WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- Outgoing Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Bell has filed a complaint with a House ethics panel against House Majority Leader Tom Delay.
Dismissed by DeLay as lacking in merit, among the charges filed with the House Standards for Official Conduct Committee Tuesday is a complaint that the Texas Republican provided political favors to a company that contributed to the House leader and other GOP members. "Mr. DeLay is the most corrupt politician in America today," Bell said Tuesday during a news conference announcing his move. "All Americans should be alarmed by this attack on Congress."
Bell also alleged DeLay helped launder corporate donations to Republican candidates in Texas, a violation of state law.
But Bell's complaint comes with a great deal of political baggage and not just because it is the first ethics complaint against a House leader since 1997.
Bell lost his seat in a primary challenge this year that was made possible by the Republican redistricting plan engineered by DeLay in his state.
"I find it very unfortunate that a disgruntled member of the House who lost his primary has to blame me for his loss," said DeLay. "He is using the ethics committee to express his bitterness."
