Inside Politics

DeLay’s response

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that he has done nothing wrong ethically, and is eager to talk to the ethics committee about recent news reports questioning whether two overseas trips he took, paid for by interest groups, violated House standards.

“I feel confident I’ve done nothing wrong,” the Texas Republican said.

He harshly criticized a series of stories in The Washington Post, which reported Mr. DeLay took a trip to South Korea in 2001 that was paid for by a group that had registered as a foreign agent and another trip to Britain in 2000 that the newspaper said largely was funded by an Indian tribe and gambling interests. The paper said Mr. DeLay later voted against a bill the tribe and gambling interests opposed.

Mr. DeLay, though, said the stories were “seriously flawed” and read a lengthy statement to reporters detailing why he voted against the bill, and later voted for another one.

The Texan was admonished twice last year by the ethics panel, but for now rank-and-file Republicans are standing by him.

And the White House offered some support, with press secretary Scott McClellan telling reporters at yesterday’s briefing, “We join with other congressional leaders in our support for Congressman DeLay, and we will continue to work closely with him to get things done for the American people.”

Scalia’s critique

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia criticized the court’s recent decision to strike down the juvenile death penalty, calling it the latest example of politics on the court that has made judicial nominations an increasingly bitter process.

In a 35-minute speech Monday, Justice Scalia said unelected judges have no place deciding issues such as abortion and the death penalty. The court’s 5-4 ruling March 1 to outlaw the juvenile death penalty, based on “evolving notions of decency,” was simply a mask for the personal policy preferences of the five-member majority, he said.

“If you think aficionados of a ‘living’ Constitution want to bring you flexibility, think again,” Justice Scalia told an audience at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. “You think the death penalty is a good idea? Persuade your fellow citizens to adopt it. You want a right to abortion? Persuade your fellow citizens and enact it. That’s flexibility.”

“Why in the world would you have it interpreted by nine lawyers?” he said.

Rehnquist applauded

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