Shortly after the news broke that U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., will be tried in the House of Representatives for questionable financial dealings, another congressional Democrat faces a similar proceeding.
An ethics report in the Democrat-controlled House says Rep. Maxine Waters of California was warned by a fellow lawmaker not to have any dealings with a bank in which her husband owned stock and had served as a board member. But it says she contacted then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to set up a meeting, and three months later, the bank, OneUnited, got $12 million in federal bailout funds.
Rep. Waters is likely to be accused of violating House rules that forbid a member of Congress to use his or her influence improperly for personal gain, The Associated Press reported.
“She knew she should say no, but it bothered her,” the report stated.
Now, a trial in the House is likely.