Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told the press that that she would run the most ethical and honest Congress in history. It doesn't seem as if it has worked out that way. Charlie Rangel has been censured for something any other American would have gone to jail for (I am told that the reason he did not go to jail for tax evasion is that as soon as the New York Times released the information on his taxes, he contacted the IRS and paid up.) At any rate, at least the House of Representatives acknowledged that he had done something wrong.
Now we have the case of Maxine Waters. This is a puzzling situation. Obviously, she would want to get her hearing over with before the Republicans take over the House of Representatives. That's not being partisan--that's just being smart. There is so much political animosity in Washington today, I can't blame her for wanting to get this over with while the Democrats are still in the majority. So why the delay?
According to LibertyCentral.org, the investigation into the activities of Ms. Waters was suspended in October when investigators of the House Ethics Committee discovered a critical piece of information - an E-mail from Waters's Chief of Staff - that had not been turned over to committee investigators. Now according to the Washington Post, the House Ethics Committee is looking into the reasons that the House Financial Services Committee did not fully comply with the request to turn over all the documents relative to the investigation of Ms. Waters.
According to the article:
"The e-mail in question, sent by Waters chief of staff Mikael Moore, asked four aides to Frank for more information on the progress of legislation meant to rescue large banks in the 2008 financial meltdown. The top aide, who is Waters's grandson, proposed legislative wording changes that ultimately ensured the minority-owned bank in which Waters's husband had a financial investment, OneUnited, received federal assistance."
I guess I am a little cynical, but I have no doubt that a large part of bailout, stimulus, and TARP money went to friends and supporters of Barack Obama. I think all government bailout programs illustrate why we should not give any more money to Washington than we absolutely have to! I do think that one of the things that will happen when the Republicans are sworn in in January is that a lot of the wheeling and dealing that has been going on with taxpayer money will be looked into and investigated if necessary. It won't be fun for anyone, but I think it is necessary.
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