Democrat Dirty Laundry: High Waters Mark: Pelosi’s Swamp Just Got Dirtier
Waters to Face Ethics Trial For Crooked Finances…Sound Familiar?
SPIN CYCLE: Pelosi Once Promised to ‘Drain the Swamp’ and Sweep Corruption out of Washington:
“‘Drain the swamp’ means to turn this Congress into the most honest and open Congress in history. That’s my pledge — that is what I intend to do,’ Pelosi stated in an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams.” (Brian Williams, “Rep. Pelosi poised to make history”, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, 11/08/2006)
RINSE CYCLE: Waters Follows in Rangel’s Footsteps, Will Face Ethics Trial for Dirty Dealings:
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has chosen to go through an ethics trial, like the one lined up for New York Rep. Charles Rangel, rather than accepting charges made by an ethics subcommittee, a source familiar with the process tells POLITICO.
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Waters’ case revolves around allegations that she improperly intervened with federal regulators to help a bank that her husband owned stock in and on whose board he once served.
“Congresswoman Waters has chosen to go through an adjudicatory subcommittee hearing, rather than accept any of the counts from the investigative subcommittee,” the source told POLITICO.
In layman’s [terms], that means she’s going to trial.
The ethics committee already has its hands full trying Rangel on charges that he broke House rules and federal statutes by improperly using his office to raise money for an education center bearing his name, maintained four rent-stabilized apartments in New York, failed to report income from a Dominican rental property and under-reported hundreds of thousands of dollars on legally required financial disclosure forms.
The Rangel case opened Thursday but won’t truly get under way until the House returns from its summer recess in September.
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If a panel of ethics committee investigators can prove charges against Waters to a separate subcommittee of lawmaker-jurors, the full ethics committee will recommend a punishment to the full House. (Jonathan Allen, “Waters Chooses Ethics Trial,” Politico, 7/30/10)
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