US: "When a man is in trouble or in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed, so I feel really good," House majority leader Tom DeLay, told the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Houston Texas on Saturday evening.
The sentiment, greeted by cheers, was seen by critics of the Republican congressman as another embarrassing excess, like his threat that judges would be "held responsible" for their role in the Terri Schiavo case, which he later admitted was "artless".
Mr DeLay's appearance at the NRA convention in Houston - which was picketed by protesters waving slogans such as "Save America without DeLay", came as pressure grew on the House majority leader to step down over alleged ethical violations.
Mr DeLay, the most aggressive promoter of conservative Republican causes on Capitol Hill, has accused the "liberal media" of waging a campaign against him.
However, his position has been undermined by critical comment from the conservative Wall Street Journal and some prominent Republicans, including former speaker Newt Gingrich.
New questions were raised at the weekend over a trip by DeLay and his family to Britain five years ago, which is at the heart of the allegations of unethical behaviour.
Mr DeLay's office said last month that the trip, which included a golf outing at St Andrew's in Scotland, was sponsored, organised and paid for by the not-for-profit National Center for Public Policy Research.
Accepting an invitation from a non-profit organisation is within ethical guidelines.
However, trips paid for by lobbyists are forbidden. Most of the $70,000 cost of the British trip was reportedly channelled to the National Center by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who sits on its board.
Mr Abramoff in turn received the funding from two Indian tribes who feared congressional action against internet gambling in their casinos, according to Time magazine.
The Choctaw Indian tribe and the internet gambling company eLottery each paid him $25,000 on the day the trip began. At the time congress was considering legislation that might have affected the Indian gambling business that was dropped a month later, Time reports.
The initiative for the trip came from Mr DeLay's aides, who insisted on top hotels and restaurants as well as the best seats for The Lion King, which had a six-month waiting list. Under ethics rules, congress members are not allowed to solicit trips.
Mr Abramoff is under investigation by federal agencies for his dealings with Native American tribes. He and colleague Michael Scanlon - a former DeLay spokesman - are reported to have secretly manoeuvred to shut down a Texas casino operated by the Tiguas Indians and then to have offered their lobbying services to get the legislation killed for a fee of more than $125,000 a month.
Investigators have uncovered e-mails in which Mr Abramoff and Mr Scanlon refer to their Indian clients, who paid them fees totalling $66 million, as "monkeys" and "losers".
The National Center insists the British trip would have gone forward even without the contributions from Mr Abramoff's lobbying clients and that it was "entirely appropriate".
An aide to Mr Abramoff is expected to be interviewed this week by the FBI about allegations of any wrongdoing "involving moneys that went into or left the Indian tribes".
The Interior Department, the revenue service and two Senate committees are also reportedly looking into Mr Abramoff's operations, including allegedly improper use of charities he established and persuaded his clients to fund.
Prominent Republicans like Peter King dismissed the charges against Mr DeLay at the weekend but rumblings from Republican ranks have made it more difficult for Mr DeLay to continue blaming "leftist organisations".
Senator Chuck Hagel yesterday said he was concerned at the charges and declined to voice support for Mr DeLay when asked on CNN.
Moderate Republican congressman Chris Shays has called on the majority leader to quit and 10 former congressmen, all Republicans, have written to House speaker Dennis Hastert urging him to reverse changes in ethics committee rules which have made it more difficult to investigate Mr DeLay.
Democrats have refused to work on the committee under the new rules which Mr DeLay said was evidence of a Democratic plot to get him as he would be cleared by the committee.
At the NRA convention Mr DeLay, who helped ensure recently that a Clinton-era ban on automatic weapons was dropped, was given a standing ovation by the 3,000 delegates.
President George Bush also addressed the convention by video, saying he supported a bill for which the NRA has lobbied, protecting gun makers from legal action. The head of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, said: "Isn't it great to have a friend of freedom in the White House?"