Waters Defends Herself Against Charges

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) held an unusual press conference this morning with reporters inside the Capitol to plead her innocence over ethics charges against her and her chief of staff.

The 90-minute roundtable was held in an “undisclosed” location inside the Capitol building, and was limited to members of the press who received invitations to attend from Waters’ DC office. During the press conference, Waters defended herself against accusations by a House ethics panel that she used her influence to secure bailout funds in 2008 for a bank in which her husband owned a significant amount of stock.

The bank, OneUnited, is a small minority-owned firm based in Boston that suffered heavy losses in 2008 due to its investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Shortly thereafter, bank executives asked the U.S. Treasury Department for $50 million to stay afloat, and ended up receiving $12 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds.

The Ethics committee’s statement of alleged violations (SAV) against Waters includes charges that she “violated the letter and spirit of House rules and federal regulations designed to prevent lawmakers from using their posts to benefit themselves or giving the appearance of conflicts of interest.” Nonetheless, Waters claimed today that she did nothing wrong.

“Neither my staff nor I engaged in any improper behavior; we did not influence anyone; and we did not gain any benefit,” she said. “This case is not just about me. This case is about access, about access to those who are not heard by people in power.”

Waters said she arranged the press conference to clear up any “misinformation” about her case. She said she had not spoken about it beforehand with any of the House Democratic leadership, some of whom were visibly annoyed with Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) for publicly discussing his own alleged ethics violations earlier in the week.

Click here for more of Rep. Waters’ response to the ethics committee’s investigation.

Rangel Says He's Not Going Away, Challenges House To Expel Him

In a wildly unexpected move, embattled Congressman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) delivered a ringing message to members of the House on Tuesday.

“Don’t leave me swinging in the wind until November,” said Rangel during a rant that lasted over a half hour. “If you want me to resign, tell me now!”

Rangel, an Army veteran who has been in office for four decades, told Democrats to “do what you gotta do,” but reminded them that he was “the guy who was raising money in Republican districts to get you here.”

The purpose of Rangel’s charged remarks was to complain about the slow pace of House Ethics Committee proceedings against him. After weeks of speculation, the committee announced before the House adjourned last week that it would file 13 charges against the 80-year-old Democrat. However, the committee has not yet announced when a trial for Rangel will begin.

Rangel said he could not afford to pay his lawyers much longer, and pleaded for an expedited trial. He then offered explanations for the most serious charges against him.

He called his decision to use congressional stationary to solicit campaign contributions “stupid, but not corrupt.” Rangel responded to allegations that he ran a congressional office out of a private residency by pleading “guilty to not being sensitive.” He also apologized for not paying closer attention to the tax liability of his vacation home in the Dominican Republic.

“Don’t let this happen to you,” Rangel warned his colleagues.