News[JURIST] AP is reporting that House Republicans have adopted a change in rules that would protect re-elected GOP Majority Leader Tom DeLay from having to relinquish his party leadership post in the event of his indictment by a Texas grand jury. DeLay could face such an indictment in the wake of an ongoing investigation into campaign finance irregularities in Travis County, Texas, where three close DeLay associates are accused of making improper corporate donations in 2002 to Texans for a Republican Majority, a political action committee DeLay helped set up. The previous rule required that GOP leaders step down if indicted on charges that could bring a prison term of at least two years. DeLay has criticized the investigation as a partisan attack. The Houston Chronicle has background on the investigation.
