The Washington Post reports that legal experts believe that privately paid trips abroad for Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and family members means he is in "serious danger of being declared in violation of House ethics rules." DeLay has been found in violation of House rules three other times. The key in the latest case will be whether DeLay knew, or should have known, that trip funding was a violation of House rules.

In 2000, DeLay traveled to Europe on a ticket charged to the credit card of "Jack Abramoff, a registered Washington lobbyist who is under investigation by federal authorities and a Senate committee in connection with tens of millions of dollars he collected for pubic affairs work for Indian tribes." Lobbyists are explicitly prohibited from funding Congressional travel.

The matter will be reviewed by the bi-partisan, 10-member House Ethics Committee. If there is an inquiry, it could take six months to a year.

In other news, the Speaker of the House announced that he will "seek the repeal of three changes to the chamber's ethics rules that Republicans pushed through in January."