Maxine Waters to Face Ethics Trial

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Democrats ,; Congress

(Credit: AP)

The House Ethics Committee is expected to announce today or tomorrow that it has formed an "adjudicatory subcommittee" to try Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters on charges of ethics violations.

The committee's announcement will make Waters the second Democrat to face an ethics trial this fall, creating a distraction for the Democratic Party as it heads into the midterm elections.

The 10-term lawmaker from Los Angeles has been under investigation since 2009 for assisting a bank to which she had personal connections in getting federal bailout money.

In 2008, Waters organized a meeting between Treasury officials and executives from OneUnited Bank, where her husband was once a board member and had large investments. The bank received $12 million from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Waters, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, has defended her request for the meeting as part of her efforts to advocate on behalf of minority-owned businesses.

Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York, another longtime House Democrat, will also be defending himself against ethics charges in a trial this fall.

The step to form an "adjudicatory subcommittee" means the House Ethics Committee has gathered enough evidence to try Waters on ethics violations charges. The actual charges against her may not be revealed until the subcommittee holds its first meeting, as was the case with Rangel.

Ethics Troubles for Democrats

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by youcancallmeroy August 6, 2010 4:10 PM EDT: Theres a reason why she earned the name Maxine ?Dirty? Waters out here in California. Here is a prime example why. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.,
She helped steered millions of dollars in bailout funds to a bank on whose board her husband served. The bank also didn?t appear to meet the requirements for receiving the money. Waters, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, arranged a meeting in September between Treasury officials and the chief executive of OneUnited, one of the country?s largest black-owned banks, which requested $50 million in special bailout funds. Waters pressured Treasury officials to bail out the minority-owned bank whose executives have donated heavily to her political campaigns. At the time she and her husband, Sidney Williams, held big financial stakes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in One United and her husband had just been the bank?s director and still served on its board. The conflict was so blatant that even the scandal-plagued chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, her good buddy Barney Frank, urged Waters to ?stay out of it,? assuring her that he would see to it that her precious bank got bailout money. Earlier this year Judicial Watch uncovered documents that Congress, especially Frank, for years ignored corruption at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so it?s not surprising that he took no action when Waters ignored his suggestion. The One United case was hardly the first time that Waters, California?s most influential black lawmaker, used her political clout to benefit her family financially. In 2004 Waters? hometown newspaper reported that her relatives made more than $1 million by doing business with companies, candidates and causes that the well-connected and powerful congresswoman had helped.; Reply to this comment


by bundye August 5, 2010 12:11 PM EDT: What's done in the dark will come to the light and that ain't right.; Reply to this comment


by jeffinpa1234 August 5, 2010 12:11 PM EDT: Another fine example of a "representative" of the people! Sticking it to the people.

Where is Nancy Pelosi when you need her....maybe a "favor " between them democrats.

Nancy Pelosi - I hope you keep looking for that drain plug....because from my point of view there is still plenty of water in the swamp and still a bunch of slime balls in the water.; Reply to this comment


by abbe91 August 3, 2010 7:03 AM EDT: Times have changed. Cheney outed a CIA front and got away with it.
At least, the democrats are doing some clean-up.; Reply to this comment


by Pithy2 August 2, 2010 7:20 PM EDT: Life just ceases to amaze me as we get closer to Election time. Someone help me understand WHY the Democrats campaign accuses the Repulicans of sending jobs overseas when the Democrats have been in control. As far as I can remember isn't this administration partisan? They have passed laws without the Repubs. Have they not had 2 years to create jobs as the number one priority but instead have raised taxes, passed legislations they haven't even read, sued their own state of Arizona, keep running up the deficit that is now in the trillions, abd have not listen to the American people!!! Do they not see that Americans have woken and have caught on to their sleezy lies and want them out of office? This is the most egotistical president that I have ever seen. There has to be an end to all the lies and deceit! Americans do not deserve what WAshington has done to this country. It's time to boot them all out!; Reply to this comment


by ToastEd_Whitey August 2, 2010 3:38 PM EDT: 'Bout time they gaut something on this hater. 'Been watchin this one fur 30 years, since her LA school board days. Waters do not like no one who is white, now she gets to go bunk with duke cunningham!!!; Reply to this comment

by ErnestSpoon August 2, 2010 2:18 PM EDT

Why do you suppose the M$M is focused on Maxine Waters' ethics problems while it ignores an FBI investigation of Nevada US Senator John Ensign?

Could it have anything to do with the fact that Mrs. Waters is a member of the Black Caucus and a Democrat while Mr. Ensign is a Republican?

Reply to this comment


by chevyhotrod August 2, 2010 2:45 PM EDT: Funny, don't the Democrats control both the Senate and the House and you want to blame Republicans?

You have truly lost complete touch with reality.


by jgg000101 August 2, 2010 3:15 PM EDT: nah, I'd say it's because one case involves an extramarital affair, and the other involves the abuse of power of an elected position to steal taxpayer money and feather one's own nest.


by _One_American____ August 2, 2010 1:35 PM EDT: These ethics investigations really need a more racially-neutral participation by Congressmen and Senators.

Let's include Barney Frank and Chris Dodd in an investigation of ethics violations.; Reply to this comment


by xxxronnie August 2, 2010 1:13 PM EDT: As a Democrat it is clear Maxine Waters is a huge liability to all Democrats in the November election. The American public is MAD AS HELL at anyone who is in Congress or Senate that is breaking the law. The voter will go into the voting booth and pull the trigger for all Republicans to show their contempt for people like Rangel and Waters who have not been forced out of office. The Justice Department must investigate their activities and send them to jail, if not the entire Democratic party could be finished.; Reply to this comment


by cleric60 August 2, 2010 1:06 PM EDT: Ethics Troubles for Democrats ...Democrats ask themselves: What are ethics? There are not moral absolutes...it depends on the given situation. I did nothing wrong!!! I didn't hurt anyone!
And the human reasoning continues......; Reply to this comment