Ethics

After Four-Month Impasse, House Ethics Taps Staff Director

Susan Crabtree | May 2, 2011, 6:16PM

This story was updated at 9:43 a.m.

The House Ethics Committee selected a staff director and chief counsel Monday evening, ending a four-month impasse that had the panel's investigative functions at a standstill, the House Ethics Committee said in a statement.

The panel unanimously chose Daniel Schwager, who currently serves as a counsel for the Senate Ethics Committee and previously worked in the public-integrity section of the Justice Department, the two House sources indicated. The vote on the evenly divided panel was 9-0 with Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) absent.

Both Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL), who chairs the panel, and its ranking member, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), strongly recommended Schwager, the sources told TPM.

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House Ethics Committee

Suspended Ethics Attorney Looks Elsewhere For Employment

Susan Crabtree | March 9, 2011, 11:53AM

One of the suspended attorneys in the middle of a brewing showdown between Republicans and Democrats on the House Ethics Committee is looking to jump ship and get out of the messy ethics battle altogether.

Morgan Kim, who served as deputy chief of staff of the panel in the last Congress and lead attorney on the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), has applied for the job of Broward County inspector general, according to a list of applicants compiled by the Sun-Sentinel.

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Ethics

Ethics Showdown Brewing Over Suspended Attorneys

Susan Crabtree | March 8, 2011, 7:28PM

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)

A showdown is brewing between House Republicans and Democrats on the Ethics Committee over whether to reinstate two attorneys accused of bungling the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) three months ago.

The two lawyers, Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign, were still on the House payroll as of Jan. 31, as TPM reported in late February, and committee rules require the panel to approve all the staffers at the beginning of each Congress. A source spotted Kim in the Capitol complex Tuesday, adding to the intrigue.

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Ethics

Mystery Surrounding House Ethics Committee Attorneys Continues

Susan Crabtree | March 1, 2011, 12:38PM

The House Ethics Committee attorneys accused of bungling the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) three months ago were still on the House payroll as of Jan. 31, as TPM reported late last week, and there are new questions about how they are managing to stick around.

House Ethics Committee rules clearly require the panel to approve all staffers at the beginning of each Congress.

"All staff members shall be appointed by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Committee," the rules state.

The vote shall occur at the first Committee of each Congress, according to the rules, and "as necessary" during the Congress.

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House Ethics Committee

Direction Of Ethics Committee Unclear As GOP Takes Over House

Ryan J. Reilly | January 21, 2011, 2:50PM

Rep Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

Two months after House Ethics Committee lawyers Morgan Kim and Stacey Sovereign were suspended by former Chief Counsel Blake Chisam, their future in the office is still unclear.

It's also uncertain if newly appointed Ethics Committee Chairman Jo Bonner (R-AL) will be successful in his push to relaunch the investigation into alleged ethics violations by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

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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

Chief Counsel Blake Chisam

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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