Dems sit back and watch the Republican meltdown

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“We’re keeping pressure on the Republican leadership to find out what happened, what they knew and when they knew it,” the spokeswoman said.

The House voted Friday to direct the ethics committee “to immediately appoint” an investigative subcommittee to handle the matter and to present a “preliminary report” within 10 days, according to a resolution offered by Pelosi.

That 10-day time period is up on Monday. At press time, two sources said the ethics committee will convene tomorrow morning.

From a political perspective, the timeline allows Democrats to keep the scandal on the front page even if political pressure on Republican leadership wanes, said Democratic sources. If the investigation moves slowly, Democrats can charge that the Republicans are fearful of revealing details of a potential cover-up. If the probe moves quickly, the results will offer a new opportunity to showcase the Republican leadership’s alleged missteps.

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“I suspect that the Democrats don’t really feel a need to say anything — the story speaks for itself,” said a House Democratic aide. “The whole thing is absolutely outrageous. I have never seen my boss so angry and disgusted.”

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