Scarcely a day goes by in which Tom DeLay's trevails do not end up in one of the national newspapers. Today's no different as the Los Angeles Times' Chuck Neubauer has the honor of writing up the latest tale in this saga.

Clients of a lobbyist under investigation for influence peddling donated a total of $50,000 to the conservative think tank that said it funded House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's trip to Britain in 2000, the head of that nonprofit group confirmed Saturday.

Amy Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research, said the money from an Indian tribe and a gambling services company were not specifically ear-marked for the $70,000 trip that included DeLay, his wife, two aides and lobbyists.

The Times reported Wednesday that the lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, arranged trips that included golf junkets to Scotland for Republican Reps. Tom Feeney of Florida, Robert W. Ney of Ohio and DeLay of Texas. All three filed travel disclosure statements listing the National Center as the sponsor of those trips.

The conservative group has acknowledged funding DeLay's travel but denied sponsoring or paying for Ney's or Feeney's expenses.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that Abramoff arranged for two of his clients — the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery — to each send a $25,000 check to the National Center.

Two months later, in July 2000, DeLay sided with the Choctaws and eLottery, voting to help defeat a House bill that would have restricted Internet gambling.

It's clear that DeLay has engaged in some unethical activities in the recent past, and he might well be indicted in the near future. This continuing story leads this blogger to question whether the House ethics panel will ever get involved in a case.