DeLay Won’t Seek Reelection, Will Resign from Congress:

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Embattled former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) announced that he would resign from Congress later this spring rather than seek a tough reelection battle, according to the Washington Post. DeLay told Time Magazine that he decided not to seek reelection after much deliberation because, “It was obvious to me that this election had become a referendum on me … It’s obvious to me that anybody but me running here will overwhelmingly win the seat.” While DeLay insists that he is not under investigation and that he has done nothing wrong it is clear that prosecutors continue to work their way closer to him. The Post writes, “some of DeLay’s official actions in Congress clearly fall within the scope of the continuing investigation: Last week’s guilty plea by Rudy cites as part of the evidence of conspiracy a letter that DeLay wrote on behalf of an Abramoff client and legislation that DeLay supported on behalf of a client of Abramoff’s firm.” Also noted in the Post is DeLay’s ability to “convert any or all of the remaining funds from his reelection campaign to his legal expenses … Election lawyers say one advantage of bowing out of the election now is that the campaign cash can be converted to pay legal bills immediately, instead of being drained in the course of a bid to stay in office.”