Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) Charged by House Ethics Committee; Ethics Violations
Karma Baby!May the Racist Thief Rot in Hell, unfortunately, she has stolen billions from the taxpayers.
[h2]Maxine Waters: Second senior Democrat to face ethics trial: source[/h2]
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...e=politicsNews
By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON | Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:58am EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A second senior U.S. Democratic lawmaker intends to fight congressional ethics charges, a source said early Saturday, complicating the party's efforts to retain control of the House in the November elections.
The House of Representatives ethics panel is expected to say as early as Monday that its investigative subcommittee has found evidence Representative Maxine Waters violated the chamber's ethics rules, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The House panel unveiled ethics charges against Representative Charles Rangel on Thursday, and both now face the prospect of a public trial just weeks before voters head to the polls for the November mid-term elections.
The nature of the charges against Waters, who heads the House Financial Services Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee, were not clear early Saturday and a Waters spokesman declined to comment.
The actual charges against Waters are not expected to be unveiled until sometime after lawmakers return in September from their summer recess, the source said.
The revelations come just hours after President Barack Obama called ethics charges against Rangel, "very troubling" and said he hoped the former head of tax writing panel could end his career "with dignity."
Rangel faces 13 counts of violating House ethics rules, including failure to report rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic and use of a rent-stabilized apartment for his campaign committee.
Rangel this week chose to proceed with a public trial, rather than accepting the ethics charges.
Democrats have urged Rangel to cut a deal to avoid a trial they fear could become a political circus and provide fodder for Republicans seeking to take control of the House.
Neither trial is expected to begin before September and it is still possible deals could be reached to close the cases before a public airing, though that possibility becomes less likely as the elections draw near.
The last time a sitting member of Congress went to a trial before his peers was Ohio Representative James Traficant in 2002.
Democrats won control of the House in 2006, promising to rid the chamber of corruption after a series of Republican ethical problems, including an influence-peddling scandal that resulted in prison time for a top Capitol Hill lobbyist.
Republicans have seized on the charges against Rangel as evidence that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats failed on their promise to "drain the swamp."
Pelosi rejected Republican complaints, citing an overhaul of House rules and requirements for greater disclosure, particularly in lobbying.
"Drain the swamp we did because this was a terrible place," Pelosi said. "We made a tremendous difference, and I take great pride in that." <===
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Originally Posted by Cynanthrope
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