MR. SCANLON COULD USE SOME CASH!

MICHAEL SCANLON (man seated in the middle) Federal prosecutors need to offer Michael Scanlon a 'get out of jail card' as well as a nice hefty reward ($5m) to testify against Tom Delay. WASHINGTON - The prospects of Tom DeLay ever returning to a leadership position in Congress may be jeopardized more by scandals rooted in Washington than this week's indictment in Texas. Particularly worrisome for DeLay are a federal investigation into the dealings of Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist who had close ties to the Sugar Land Republican, and a House ethics committee examination of DeLay's trips and any other activities with Abramoff. "Either being linked to Abramoff in a federal criminal indictment (of Abramoff) or a finding against him by the ethics committee would be hugely damaging," said Thomas Mann, a senior political analyst with the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution. One of the people who reportedly has been talking with federal investigators probing Abramoff is Michael Scanlon, a former DeLay aide who later became a business associate of Abramoff in deals that led to the alleged bilking of $82 million from the Indian clients. Scanlon could be a bridge between the SunCruz case and the Abramoff investigation in Washington, because he did public relations work for the Florida company and for Abramoff's Indian clients. He also could be a source of information on whether DeLay was improperly influenced by trips, gifts or campaign contributions.