Two House Ethics Lawyers Involved With (Maxine) Waters Case Suspended

[deminks]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/two_house_ethics_lawyers_involved_with_waters_case_suspended.php?ref=fpblg

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.

A statement at the time from Chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) said the delay was "due to materials discovered that may have an effect on the investigative subcommittee's transmittal to the Committee." The new materials were reportedly e-mails from Mikael Moore, Waters' grandson and chief of staff.

Kim, the deputy chief counsel and the lead attorney on the Waters case, is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida. She's been with the ethics committee since 2006, according to Legistorm. Sovereign is a former associate general counsel for the Marine Spill Response Corp. Records show she joined the committee in December 2009.

One source familiar with the Waters investigation told TPM there had been "acrimony" between Kim and House Ethics Committee staff director Blake Chisam for some time now. The source said Kim and Chisam had clashed over what the Waters case was about and interpretations of House ethics rules. Chisam initially tried to fire Kim and Sovereign, Politico reported.

[spanone]

1. k&r

[saracat]

2. Hmmm.

[madrchsod]

3. ?????? what the hell?

[EFerrari]

4. Maybe these two people tried to point out to the committee

that these allegations were a bunch of cr@p.

The thing I noticed about those emails between the bankers and her Chief of Staff was, the bankers kept emailing him and he was nice but kept directing them elsewhere, exactly as he should have. These emails are being used as evidence of violations but they aren't. They don't show that.