Reports the San Francisco Chronicle:

"DeLay was referring to a Federal Election Commission decision in 2003 in which one of Pelosi's fundraising committees was fined $21,000 for making illegal political contributions during the 2002 congressional elections.

"The FEC ruled that two Pelosi political action committees created to help Democrats in the 2002 elections were related instead of being independent and therefore violated a rule against giving more than the maximum $5,000 annual contribution."

The top House Democrat insisted that election commission officials had given the verbal OK for bigger contributions but later changed their minds.

Unnerved by DeLay's decision to publicly complain about her election lawbreaking, Pelosi struck back on Friday.

"Tom DeLay proved this morning that he is not only unethical, but delusional," she said. "No amount of mudslinging can hide the fact that Mr. DeLay has repeatedly abused his power. Over the years, this has resulted in four rebukes by the Ethics Committee."

Democrats were still fuming at the decision by House Republicans to amend internal party rules that would allow DeLay to continue to serve even if he is indicted for his alleged improprieties.

Pelosi and other Democrats have urged the top Republican to step down from his leadership post after the House Ethics Committee admonished him last week for allegedly giving donors special access by hosting a June 2002 fund-raising golf outing for energy lobbyists.

The committee also rebuked DeLay for using the Federal Aviation Administration to try to track a plane that Democratic state legislators in Texas flew out of state to stall a vote during last year's redistricting battle.

A Democratic prosecutor in Austin is reportedly mulling a possible indictment against DeLay, but his supporters say Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is a partisan hack who has filed bogus charges against other Republicans in the past.

In 1993, Earle indicted Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the middle of her re-election campaign - only to have the case dismissed by a Texas judge.

Editor's note: