Statement of Chairman Joel
Hefley and Ranking Minority Member Alan B. Mollohan
When a
complaint is filed with the Committee, Committee Rule 16(a) requires that the
Chairman and Ranking Minority Member make a procedural determination on whether
the complaint was properly filed. We
have determined, under that provision of the rules, that the complaint filed by
Representative Chris Bell against Representative Tom DeLay on
This is solely a procedural determination
regarding the formal sufficiency of the complaint, and it in no way addresses,
or constitutes a determination on the substance of any of the allegations made
in the filing. Pursuant to our
determination, there will be further proceedings regarding the complaint under
Committee Rules 16 and 17. In accordance
with Committee Rule 7 on confidentiality, there will be no public comment on
these proceedings from the Committee or its members except in the form of a written
statement issued either by us or the full Committee. Copies of the Committee Rules are available
from the Committee office, and their text is available on the Committee Web
site, www.house.gov/ethics.