Investigation Of Rep. Waters To Continue

Back in 2010, it was learned that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) helped to secure government funds to bail out a bank where her husband held a significant amount of stock. The move saved her husband's investment (an investment that it's hard to believe she didn't know he had). The whole thing stinks. If it was not illegal (and it seems that it wasn't), then it is certainly unethical. With her husband's interest in the bank, she should not have had anything to do with funneling government funds into that bank.

The House Ethics Committee started an investigation into whether Rep. Waters had violated House ethics rules. Instead of offering a defense for her actions (if she had a defense), her attorney attacked the committee investigating her -- claiming that the committee had violated her rights in at least 12 instances.

The committee took the charges seriously. They replaced their lead attorney, and for the last year or so he has investigated the committee's actions. He found no wrongdoing. Now the committee has informed Rep. Waters that her rights were not violated and the investigation of the charges against her will be continued.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) and Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Kentucky), the chairman and ranking member of the committee, wrote Rep. Waters, telling her, "The outside counsel has concluded, and the Committee has unanimously found that you have been afforded notice and the opportunity to be heard. As such, there has been no violation of the due process rights to which you are entitled. Even when the allegations are considered in their totality, there is still no violation of the process which you are due, and the Committee is entitled to continue its consideration of your matter."

I don't know whether this will be enough to cost Rep. Waters her job as a representative, but it will probably hurt her rising any further in Congress. And it will definitely hurt the Democratic Party, which doesn't need this kind of black eye with an election coming up -- an election that many say will be close. President Obama has had a very corruption-free administration, and while Rep. Waters is not in the administration, her ethical failures will be used by the opposition party to smear the president and his party.

When this first became known in 2010, I called for Rep. Waters to resign. I still think she should resign. She has had a long career in the House, but it is time for her to go. If Rep. Waters was a Republican, progressives and Democrats all over the country would be demanding her resignation. We can do no less just because she is a Democrat. Unethical and corrupt actions should not be tolerated for those of either political party.

I have personally admired Rep. Waters and her long career fighting for progressive causes. But she has done wrong. Now it is time for her to retire from public service.