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 June 15, 2004 was properly filed.
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/ethic