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Maxine Waters Ethics Trial Put On Hold

1 year ago
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On the day after the House Ethics Committee recommended a censure for Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), the committee announced Friday that it will not hold the trial of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on Nov. 29, as scheduled.

Instead, committee chairs Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) said they have decided to send Waters' case back to the panel's subcommittee for further investigation. Although the committee did not indicate why it had taken this step, sending the case back to investigators could either expand or reduce the charges against the 10-term congresswoman.

In July, the committee publicly released three ethics charges against Waters related to her and her staff's roles in intervening with federal regulators on behalf of OneUnited Bank, in which she and her husband had substantial investments and where her husband once served on the board of directors. At the time, the committee's counsel released a statement of alleged violation, indicating the panel had "substantial reason to believe" that Waters broke the official rules of the House.

Maxine WatersIn a motion to dismiss the charges, Waters' attorney said that it was the congresswoman's chief of staff who had communicated with Treasury Department officials on behalf of OneUnited and that he did so without Waters' direction or knowledge. He also said that a later award of $10 million in TARP funds to the bank was not the direct result of the chief of staff's work.

Waters has repeatedly said she has done nothing wrong. Immediately after the charges were announced, she vowed to take the matter to a public trial. "I have not violated any House rules," Waters said. "Therefore, I simply will not be forced to admit to something I did not do."

Waters has represented her south-central Los Angeles district in Congress since 1991. Her official House website describes the congresswoman as "considered by many to be one of the most powerful women in American politics today."

Now that the matter has been sent back for further investigation, a trial for Waters -- if it comes -- will likely wait until the next Congress is sworn in and new members take their seats on the committee.

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84 Comments

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dreannp

Yoohoo! Charlie Yoohoo! Maxine We don't care if you're purple with yellow stripes.....a crook is a crook. Once a cheat, ALWAYS a cheat. You're either HONEST to a fault or you're NOT. Guess which group YOU TWO belong in?

November 21 2010 at 3:41 AM Report abuse +5 rate up rate down Reply
punnster

Just what we need. Crooked politicians in Washington telling us who is crooked.

November 20 2010 at 2:57 PM Report abuse +7 rate up rate down Reply
tnickerson08

Innocent people don't need excuses, but maxine waters and charlie rangle have blamed everyone under the sun. What's next; they are just picking on me because I'm black? We all know that it's comming, "I'm not a crook, your a raciest".

November 20 2010 at 12:55 PM Report abuse +11 rate up rate down Reply
Rob & Kathy

After the Rodney King incident, Waters said, "the people of south central Los Angles have a right to riot". The ensuing riot cost over 60 people their lives...

November 20 2010 at 12:20 PM Report abuse +10 rate up rate down Reply
stimarth

Wow IM amazed, another Liberal Democrat on charges of misconduct........I thought is was supposed to be the Republicans

November 20 2010 at 10:34 AM Report abuse +8 rate up rate down Reply
GEOFFREY HUGHES.

Term limits would fix all the thieves in Congress!

November 20 2010 at 10:25 AM Report abuse +10 rate up rate down Reply
Dave

If the Democrats thought Nov 2nd was bad, wait until 2012. Obama and his liberal America hating band of radicals will be gone.

November 20 2010 at 10:15 AM Report abuse +11 rate up rate down Reply
openvisions55

They need to stop pointing the finger and do the work they were hired to do. Help the American people. They are just wasting time and money. If they spent this time getting jobs, they would be doing something right. With jobs comes healthcare and people will be able to pay bills, put money back into the economy. They are just wasting our time. We get it the republicans have power now. So what are you going to do with it? Stop wasting our time. If you can raise money like you did during election time, ask the same companies that gave you the money to start hiring people. Don't wait until 2012 and start. Don’t stall just to make Obama look bad so he won’t get any votes. Think about the American people and not just yourself. Power is not always the answer. It’s what you do with the power. We don’t have time for all the finger pointing. Everyone in Washington is a crook. So start working for us and deal with the heavy weights in Washington later. That’s If you care about us. Now get to work

November 20 2010 at 10:06 AM Report abuse +6 rate up rate down Reply
James Bridges

First They Slap Rangel On The hand and Tell him "Dont get caught next Time" and Now They dont wont to go to Trail on another Politician Because They havent wasted enough money yet so They want To waste even More. Politicians are Not The Cure To This Countries Problems They are The Cause of most Of Them

November 20 2010 at 9:48 AM Report abuse +14 rate up rate down Reply
ConnieJ

Why waste time investigating any of the super-elite, liberal left? The most 'punishment' that they ever get is a token 'slap-on-the-wrist', then they go merrily along their way, smirking at the public who is sick of the whole mess.

November 20 2010 at 9:39 AM Report abuse +12 rate up rate down Reply

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