Experts See Problems for DeLay

During the same trip, $184 of DeLay's expenses, including phone calls, food and other items, were also billed to a credit card used by Edwin A. Buckham, another registered lobbyist. Under House rules, lawmakers may not accept anything of value, including entertainment, recreation or meals, from anyone if the value of the gift exceeds $50 and if the total value of gifts from one source exceeds $100 in a year.

In addition, DeLay may not have fully accounted for the cost of golf outings at a historic Scotland resort in disclosure forms required from lawmakers. What's more, no group or corporation is allowed to pay for foreign trips that last more than a week, even for educational purposes. The London and Scotland jaunt lasted 10 days.

A visit to South Korea in 2001 presents a twist on these issues. That trip was paid for by the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council, a business-financed entity that registered as a foreign agent -- essentially a lobbyist for a foreign country -- a few days before the Aug. 25 trip that year. House rules don't allow registered foreign agents to pay for lawmakers' travel.

A third trip DeLay made, to Moscow in June 1997, was under the auspices of the same group that oversaw the London-Scotland trip, the National Center for Public Policy Research. Published reports raise the question of whether the Washington-based nonprofit group paid for that trip itself -- a legitimate expenditure under House rules -- or whether the visit was paid for by business interests that were lobbying in support of the Russian government. House ethics rules prohibit the earmarking by third parties of financing for lawmakers' travel.

"The rules don't allow straw organizations to conduct or fund any members' travel," Baran said.

Bobby R. Burchfield, an attorney for DeLay, said that none of these incidents presents serious jeopardy for his client. The primary reason, he said, is that DeLay believed that the trips were arranged and paid for by bona fide organizations unconnected to lobbyists or lobbying groups, and that DeLay had no reason to think otherwise.

DeLay and his staff considered the research center to be "reputable" and knew Abramoff to be a board member of the group, Burchfield said. Neither DeLay nor his staff knew that the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council had registered as a foreign agent, he added.

"Congressman DeLay cannot be held accountable for things that he did not know about," Burchfield said. The council is now seeking to have its status as a foreign agent revoked because it may have registered needlessly.

Burchfield also said the 10-day trip fell within the seven-day limit because travel days aren't counted as part of the official total.

The broader issue involved in the controversy is whether DeLay or his staff should have worked harder to determine who was behind the trips. Burchfield said there was no reason for him to do so given the reputations of the groups involved. But the ethics rules recommend that lawmakers take time to check the organizations that pay for their travel.

"It is advisable for a Member or staff person who is invited on a trip to make inquiry on the source of the funds that will be used to pay for the trip," the House ethics manual states.

Baran said: "The committee is going to look at how much knowledge DeLay and his staff had about the groups and what actions they took to divine the circumstances involved in those trips.

"DeLay's gotten himself in a terrible predicament," he added. "At the very least, he's been taken advantage of by lobbyists. He has a lot of explaining to do."