tom delay and two of his associates were indicted on charges of conspiracy.

here's what ap had to say:

"'The defendants entered into an agreement with each other or with TRMPAC (Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee) to make a political contribution in violation of the Texas election code,' says the four-page indictment. 'The contribution was made directly to the Republican National Committee within 60 days of a general election.'"

and

"The grand jury action is expected to have immediate consequences in the House, where DeLay is largely responsible for winning passage of the Republican legislative program. House Republican Party rules require leaders who are indicted to temporarily step aside from their leadership posts."

such a charge, too: conspiracy. perhaps it's because I just read all the president's men, but this is strikingly similar to the initial charges in the entire watergate scandal. first it was the break-in, then the FBI linked the break-in to Nixon's reelection campaign, former Nixon aides were indicted, top staffers resigned, and it all went to hell. here we have a committee accused of wrongdoing, the head of the committee having been previously admonished for possible ethics violations, and now he himself has been indicted for conspiracy. granted, the scope of the scandal is perhaps not nearly to the scale that watergate was, but wouldn't it be something if the RNC was deeply involved? if rove was? mehlman? how do we know for sure that it stops at delay?