Rep. Maxine Waters eases demand for inquiry into Ethics Committee suspensions

Reporting from Washington —  Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) pulled back Thursday from her efforts to force an investigation of the suspensions of two House Ethics Committee lawyers who worked on a pending case against her.

Waters took to the House floor and instead called on the Ethics Committee to publicly disclose the circumstances surrounding the suspensions of Morgan Kim, the panel’s deputy chief counsel, and Stacey Sovereign, another committee lawyer.

“Upon the advice of my colleagues whom I trust and admire, I am not pushing for a vote on this resolution today,” Waters said. “In doing so, however, I am requesting that the committee set the record straight, on its own accord, in a bipartisan manner.”

But Waters hinted that she would pick up the resolution and bring it to a House vote if the committee does not reveal the information about the suspensions.

Waters said the suspensions raised questions about the case against her, which the panel has been investigating for more than a year.

The lingering resolution would require a bipartisan panel to investigate the suspensions and issue a report before the end of the year. The report would have to be “completed immediately” to fit into the dwindling congressional calendar, a feat Waters acknowledged was unlikely.

The resolution portrays the suspensions as part of broader concerns about the House ethics process. The panel’s actions “subjected the committee to public ridicule and weakened the ability of the committee to properly conduct its investigative duties,” the resolution reads.

Ethics Committee officials did not respond to requests for comment.

It is unclear whether the committee’s actions against Kim and Sovereign were related to the case against Waters.

Richard Sauber, the attorney representing Kim and Sovereign, said the two were placed on administrative leave without explanation by Ethics Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose). An inquiry into the suspensions would reveal that his clients “performed their jobs with vigor and professionalism,” he said.

Waters, a senior member of the House committee that oversees banking, is accused of inappropriately intervening on behalf of OneUnited Bank, where her husband owned stock and served on the board.

The 72-year-old lawmaker denies wrongdoing, saying she was not trying to help a specific institution but rather minority-owned businesses in general.

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