US House votes to investigate indicted lawmaker

WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) The US House of Representatives, prodded by Republicans, voted to possibly consider expelling indicted Democratic Rep William Jefferson of Louisiana before he even stands trial.

On a bipartisan vote of 373-26, the Democratic-led House yesterday approved a resolution directing its ethics committee to investigate federal bribery charges against Jefferson and recommend whether the nine-term lawmaker should be removed from Congress.

Only five members of the House have been expelled in the past 150 years.

''The American people rightfully expect the highest ethical standards from their elected leaders,'' declared House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, who introduced the resolution.

The vote came a day after Jefferson was hit with a 16-count federal indictment, and seven months after Democrats won control of Congress, accusing Republicans of ''a culture of corruption.'' The previous Congress was rocked by scandals, most of them involving Republicans and many of them tied to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Jefferson, 63, has denied any wrongdoing. A trial date has yet to be set. He faces a maximum of 235 years in prison if convicted.

As initially proposed, Boehner's resolution would have also removed Jefferson from the House Small Business Committee. But earlier in the day, Jefferson stepped down from the panel.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Jefferson also wrote that he backed her efforts to clean up how Congress does business with a host of ethics and lobbying reforms.

The House also approved a broader Democratic resolution, which states that if any member is indicted, the ethics panel would begin a probe within 30 days -- or explain why it decided against such an investigation.

Under House rules, a two-thirds vote by the 435-member chamber is needed to expel a member.

Five House members have been expelled in the past 150 years, according to the Congressional Research Service. Three were thrown out in 1861 for disloyalty to the Union during the Civil War. Two others were expelled, in 1980 and 2002, for bribery.

REUTERS JK BST0740