To: Rembrandt_fan
Please explain any criminal culpability or ethical lapses - as you understand it.
To: Cincinatus' Wife
I'm no attorney, so I can't address (with any authority) whatever criminal culpability DeLay might've had by unknowingly using questionable money sources for traveling, etc. Ethics, though, are the domain of anyone who can discern right from wrong with any clarity. If he was truly unaware of any impropriety, and this lack of knowledge can be proved with any reasonable certainty, then I would say no breach of ethics are involved. It's true that highly placed public officials should be held to a higher standard than, say, a local school board member. It's also true that I'm no expert on House or Senate ethics rules (or an expert on pretty much anything outside my profession). But I do know that intent is a mitigating factor in both criminal cases and ethics disputes. Ignorance is no defense for bad judgment, certainly, but 'unethical' denotes behavior acted out willfully and knowingly. The attorneys out there can shoot me if I'm wrong.
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