In the past few weeks, Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) was charged with ethics violations by the House of Representatives. A Congressional hearing found he warranted reprimand, but little else. Maxine Waters, a Democratic Representative from California has also been hit with ethics charges for alleged conflicts of interest. She has requested a quick hearing to clear her name of all charges against her.
Conflicts of interest alleged against Waters
Maxine Waters, a 10-term representative from California, was charged with ethics violations by the House of Representatives today. The upcoming charges were announced weeks ago. Her husband owns stock in OneUnited, as outlined by USA Today, an online bank which Representative Waters allegedly arranged special treatment for. Bailout funds for the financial institution totaled about $ 12 million. Allegedly, she arranged for the bank’s representatives to be in a meeting with officials from the Treasury, to get a crack at bailout money. Mikael Moore, her chief of staff, was allegedly not informed to steer clear of the conflict of interest. Moore, as luck would have it, is also her grandson.
Little proof of innocence for Rangel
After being indicted for 13 counts of ethics violations, Representative Charlie Rangel received only a reprimand. Among the charges were improper soliciting for donations and not reporting income or assets on tax returns, according to the New York Times. The investigation has been going on for over two years. The House of Representatives and the Senate have protocols for expulsion or censure of members, but are rarely used. The last expelled Representative was James Trafficant, and no Representative has been censured since 1983. Censures in the Senate are rare also, as only four have taken place since 1950, one of which was Thomas Dodd, father of current Senator Chris Dodd.
Doesn’t meet expectations
Representative Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), was reported as saying that if Rangel was guilty, he should quit. She also states that the laws that are in place are not just for citizens to follow but everybody, and that contains the members of Congress.
Find more information on this subject
nytimes.com/2010/07/31/nyregion/31rangel.html?_r=1 and scp=8 and sq= and st=nyt
content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/08/maxine-water-ethics-charge/1
