US House leader charged with criminal conspiracy

WASHINGTON - Tom DeLay, one of the most powerful politicians in the US, has been charged with criminal conspiracy in a campaign fund-raising scandal in his home state of Texas.

Immediately after being indicted, Mr DeLay announced he was "temporarily" stepping down from his post as House majority leader.

Mr DeLay, 58, who is known as 'the Hammer' on Capitol Hill for his hard charging style, is accused along with two Texas associates of operating a scheme to channel corporate money into the campaign to win control of the Texas legislature in 2002 - illegal in the state.

Mr DeLay has all along denied wrong-doing, and claims he is victim of a witch-hunt by a politically motivated prosecutor.

"It's a skunky indictment if they have one," Bill White, a lawyer for the majority, said.

Nonetheless the charge, even if largely anticipated, is a massive blow for the Republican establishment in Washington.

It comes as George W. Bush is going through the rockiest period of his presidency, and ethics charges are swirling around other top party figures.

Mr DeLay has long been a figure of controversy. Democrats have never forgiven him for the redistricting scheme he pushed through under questionable circumstances in his home state, sending an extra six Republican congressmen to Washington and cementing his party's grip on the House.

Ever since he rose to the No .2 position behind house Speaker Dennis Hastert, he has kept the tightest control of the Republican caucus, often stretching rules to breaking point to secure Mr Bush's agenda.

Last night a shaken White House said it continued to consider Mr DeLay "a good ally and friend."

Further tarnishing Mr DeLay's reputation are his connections with the disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, himself indicted for fraud, and under congressional investigation for charging Indian tribes over $60m in fees, and persuading them to fund jaunts by senior Congressmen - including Mr DeLay.

Meanwhile Bill Frist, the Senate Majority leader, widely believed to be planning a Presidential run in 2008, is facing an ethics probe of his own after he sold stock in his family's hospital management company - supposed to be in a blind trust - just before a sharp fall in its price. Mr Frist, too, insists he has done nothing wrong.

Mr DeLay has already been warned three times by the House Ethics Committee for his conduct.

In order to protect him, House Republicans last year repealed the rule requiring that their leaders step down if indicted. But they swiftly re-instated the provision, after a torrent of criticism from activists in the country.

- INDEPENDENT