This is hilarious!!!! I wonder what the going rate is today for a guy to get serviced by his wife...

Lawyers familiar with House ethics rules, speaking on
background, said that DeLay is right in saying that he
was not obligated to perform due diligence on the
nonprofit group that paid for the Moscow trip, the
National Center for Public Policy Research. One lawyer
said, "It's this backdoor financing that creates an
ethics issue, but it doesn't seem to be a fact that
was known to him."

As for the payments to DeLay's wife and daughter, the
lawyer said that under federal election regulations,
"It's clearly legal to pay relatives provided they
provide services at the going rate."

It's just too funny, the passage makes them sound like hookers. I'm sure some would be of the opinion my mind should stay out of the gutter, but if I were writing the story, I think I would have tried to rephrase it. So anyway, here is a passage from earlier in the article that explains, kind of, what they were getting paid for.....

The Times said the payments to DeLay's wife, Christine DeLay, and his only child, Dani DeLay Ferro, were described in the disclosure forms as "fund-raising fees," "campaign management" or "payroll," with no additional details about how they earned the money.

"My wife and daughter have any right, just like any other American, to be employed and be compensated for their employment," DeLay said. "It's pretty disgusting, particularly when my wife and daughter are singled out and others are not, in similar situations in the Senate and as well as the House.

A more enlightened politician would understand how payments to his family, no matter how benign the basis for them, could be misconstrued, and would see it in their best interests to counter any controversy in the first place. They could even use it to their advantage, the family getting involved with their only compensation being to serve the country.......