Jo Bonner

Boehner Puts Bonner In Charge Of House Ethics Committee

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 4:42PM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the House ethics committee who reportedly ordered the Capitol Police to block the doors of the committee's offices for a week during a dispute over the handling of the ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), will serve as chairman of the House ethics committee in the 112th Congress.

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Blake Chisam

Report: House Ethics Committee Director Blake Chisam Leaving

Ryan J. Reilly | December 16, 2010, 8:50AM

WASHINGTON, DC- Nov 18: Chief Counsel Blake Chisam during the House Standards of Official Conduct hearing on what sanctions should be brought against Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y. Rangel was found guilty on Tuesday on multiple counts of ethics violations by a House ethics subcommittee. Sanctions that could be imposed are censure, reprimand or expulsion. The full House would then vote on that sanction. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly)

Blake Chisam, the staff director and chief counsel of the House ethics committee who was chosen by Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), will be departing the key position imminently, The Hill reported. Chisam tendered his resignation before the election, but his departure is fueling speculation that Lofgren wants to leave the committee as well, the newspaper reports.

Chisam oversaw the committee's case against Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and the delay of the trial of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

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Maxine Waters

Report: House Ethics Lawyers Kept Probing Waters After Investigation Phase Ended

Ryan J. Reilly | December 2, 2010, 9:30AM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Two former federal prosecutors who were suspended from the House ethics committee -- both of whom previously worked for Republican appointed judges -- reportedly kept probing allegations against Rep. Maxine Waters even after the subcommittee recommended the California Democrat be tried for ethics violations.

Cindy Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign apparently ruffled feathers by continuing to investigate Waters after the investigative subcommittee made its recommendations in August, several Republican sources on Capitol Hill told the Washington Post.

"They were pushing too hard" to broaden the investigation, one Republican staff aide told the newspaper. Kim and Sovereign circulated a memo supporting the postponement of the trial and imploring the committee to investigate further, the source said.

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Maxine Waters

Two House Ethics Lawyers Involved With Waters Case Suspended

Ryan J. Reilly | December 1, 2010, 11:40AM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Two lawyers from the House ethics committee, including the chief prosecutor working on the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), were suspended last month on the same day the panel announced an indefinite delay in Waters' public trial.

Cindy Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign were placed on administrative leave on Nov. 19 -- the same day that the panel announced an indefinite delay of Waters trial. The suspensions were first reported by Politico.

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