I’m trying to either verify or de-bunk a rumor I heard about a certain House of Representatives ritual regarding the treatment of a House member who is about to be compelled to resign, impeached, or whose career in elected service is about to meet an otherwise unflattering end.
As it was explained to me, as the soon-to-be-disgraced member enters a gathering room adjacent to the House floor, that member is unsuspectingly given a sardonic, portentous round of applause from a number of other house members assembled in the room.
While this does sound like a perfectly insulting, vicious-yet-sophisticated parliamentary left-handed send off, I can’t find any reference to it on the internet. I do trust my source; he's a federal judge who said that a few days ago, Tom DeLay got a standing ovation in just this tradition.
Any former congressional aides, House staffers, etc. care to either confirm or deny this?