Waters Disputes Facts Surrounding Ethics Complaint

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) made an aggressive challenge Friday to charges that she violated House rules, framing the allegations in her own terms in an effort to counter information released by a House ethics subcommittee earlier this week.

The California lawmaker also raised the specter of reforming the House ethics committee, suggesting the investigation into her actions could “open up a discussion about the process” and lead to legislative action.

During the 90-minute press conference, Waters offered a detailed defense of her actions in fall 2008 and her chief of staff, Mikael Moore, a central figure in allegations that Waters violated House rules, offered a slide show presentation of various e-mails and interview transcripts in support of Waters’ account of events.

“I believe that if you’re going to write about this story you need to know what you’re writing about,” Waters said at the press conference. “Some of you have been all over the place in what you know and what you don’t know. And so, I thought it was important for you to get as much information as you could possibly get, so at least you can have some basic information based on documents, based on an understanding.”

The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct released an investigative subcommittee report on Monday that charges Waters with violating the chamber’s rules. The report charges that her top aide, who is also her grandson, tried to secure federal support for a bank in which Waters and her husband held hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock.

Read more: (Jennifer Yachnin, “Waters Disputes Facts Surrounding Ethics Complaint,” Roll Call, 08/13/2010)