that phrase refers to House Republicans' decision to get rid of an 11-year-old party rule that required leadership members to step aside temporarily if indicted....
The rule change was approved by voice vote during a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Nov. 17. That means there's no written record of the vote.
Spurred on by Josh Marshall, author of the political blog http:// talkingpointsmemo.com, constituents having been calling members of Congress to ask how they voted.
Three people who called Sweeney's D.C. office reported back with similar stories: His staff either couldn't or wouldn't say how he had voted. Staffers professed not to know the answer, or said they hadn't yet had a chance to talk to Sweeney about his vote, or said the vote was private. Sometimes, they reportedly tried all these tactics in one conversation.