First it was Harlem’s Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel. Now it is Watts Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Both are being investigated for ethics violations only months before the midterm elections. And with the GOP as giddy as a child on Christmas eve, some in Washington are questioning the timing of the revelations.
The case against Congressman Rangel at least carries a bit more weight. But the charge against Congresswoman Waters is a stretch at best. It centers solely on a meeting Waters arranged with Treasury officials during the banking crisis, where the main topic of discussion was a bank with ties to her husband. Basically, Maxine Waters requested a meeting. That’s it. There were never any charges that she applied undue pressure on anyone or engaged in any inappropriate financial transactions. Only that she requested a meeting. If there was any crime at all, it was that perhaps Maxine Waters may have wasted someone’s time. The meeting with Treasury Department official never got any results.
Waters has vowed to fight the charges in a congressional trial, saying no “back-room-plea-bargaining” deal is necessary, and that she was only promoting opportunities for minority-owned businesses in underserved communities such as her South Los Angeles district. But in an 80-page House Ethics Report, the GOP has attempted to concoct a case against her, allegedly twisting House Ethics rules and embellishing facts at will. The report was first published one year ago, but is only now being released — just in time for the 2010 campaign season. Which poses the question:
The timing of these charges is suspicious. But Charlie Rangel is probably more at fault than Maxine Waters.From CNN:Veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel apologized on the House floor Tuesday for causing any embarrassment by violating chamber rules, but he insisted he is not corrupt and refused to resign.In a sometimes rambling speech, the New York Democrat defiantly challenged the House ethics committee to move faster on holding a public hearing on the 13 counts of alleged violations against him.He also challenged fellow House members of both parties to kick him out if they want to get rid of him."If it is the judgment of the people here that I should resign," then the ethics committee should expedite its consideration of the charges against him, Rangel said. But "I am not going away. I am here."http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/10/rangel.statement.denial/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29