Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), under investigation for alleged violations of House ethics rules, is demanding an investigation into two suspended House ethics committee aides, Roll Call reported.
Waters will introduce a privileged resolution today that would create a bipartisan task force to conduct the probe into the suspension of the two lawyers, her office confirmed to the newspaper.
Reported Roll Call:
The measure will be modeled on a 2005 resolution authored by then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Pelosi called for a similar inquiry into the firing of several of the panel’s longtime aides by then-ethics Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), as well as the ouster of then-Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) at the panel’s helm.
The House voted to table Pelosi’s resolution and did not review the panel’s decision, the newspaper reported. NBC’s Shawna Thomas related some excerpts from the proposed language, including this:
(1) the Speaker shall appoint a bipartisan task force with equal representation of the majority and minority parties to investigate the circumstances and cause of the decision to place professional staff of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct on indefinite administrative leave and to make recommendations to restore public confidence in the ethics process, including disciplinary measures for both staff and Members where needed; and(2) the task force report its findings and recommendations to the House of Representatives during the second session of this Congress.
In other words, Waters is asking the bipartisan task force to issue its findings before the end of the 111th Congress (and the end of Pelosi’s tenure as Speaker).
The lawyers Waters would like to look into, Cindy Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign, were reportedly accused of probing the Waters matter even after the decision was made to move forward with a trial, which had originally been scheduled for Nov. 29.
A lawyer representing the women declined an interview with TPM yesterday.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.