Maxine Waters

Ethics Hires Special Prosecutor For Waters' Case Amid Turmoil

Susan Crabtree | July 20, 2011, 1:09PM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

The House Ethics Committee has hired a special prosecutor to handle the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a two-year investigation that has become mired in allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and partisan maneuvering.

The panel announced the hire of Billy Martin, a partner at the Washington office of Dorsey & Whitney, in a lengthy statement Wednesday, which came in the wake of an unprecedented document leak airing the committee's dirty laundry in excruciating detail. It was a unanimous decision, the panel said.

The scores of Ethics Committee e-mails and memos, reported by Politico Monday with links to the documents, paint a picture of a committee consumed by partisan dysfunction and accusations of professional misconduct surrounding Waters' case.

Read more »

Bell City Council Officials

Bell, CA Nearly Broke After Salary Inflation Scandal

Jillian Rayfield | December 21, 2010, 8:41AM

Bell, CA Officials George Cole, Robert Rizzo, Pier'Angela Spaccia, Victor Bello, George Mirabal, Teresa Jacobo, Oscar Hernandez, and Luis Artiga

The city of Bell, CA is nearly broke after city officials used public funds to inflate their salaries, and is now facing painful cuts to the city's budget, including possibly disbanding its police department and slashing other city services.

Some of the officials in this blue-collar Los Angeles-area city made up to $96,000 a year for part-time elected positions -- 20 times the national average for a city Bell's size. Former Bell City Administrator Robert Rizzo, who was charged with 53 different counts, made nearly $800,000 a year. Eight Bell officials pleaded not guilty to the charges in October.

Read more »

Peter Roskam

GOP Rep Runs Taxpayer-Funded Campaign-Style Ads On 'Out Of Control Spending'

Justin Elliott | March 5, 2010, 2:56PM

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL)

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) is running campaign-style Web ads for a "tele-town hall" on "out of control spending" that are financed by taxpayer dollars -- and the ads were OKed as permissible under House rules.

The ads, which you can check out one version of below, are set on an American flag background and include a red-white-and-blue button that reads "Congressman."

Read more »