Credit where it’s due (emphasis mine):
National Review, an influential conservative publication that has defended Mr. DeLay in his Texas court fight, on Wednesday encouraged him to step aside, drawing a distinction between what it saw as a partisan state-level prosecution and the inquiry by the Justice Department. It noted that not only have Mr. Abramoff and a former DeLay press secretary, Michael Scanlon, pleaded guilty but that other former senior DeLay aides are under scrutiny.
“Assuming that DeLay is cleared in Texas, it would be a substantial political risk for Republicans to bring DeLay back to the leadership while the Abramoff cloud is hanging over him, as it appears it will for some time to come,” the publication said in an online editorial. “Why would they want to carry on under a formerly former majority leader, only to face the possibility of having to remove him from leadership yet again should he be further implicated in the Abramoff mess?”