Exclusive: Rep. Maxine Waters Fights On
EmailRep. Maxine Waters, who is facing a Congressional ethics trial, made it clear that she is going to fight these charges to the very end.
In her first television interview since the charges were filed, the Democratic congresswoman from California told me "nobody did anything that interfered with their decision making" that lead to more than $12 million of TARP funds given to OneUnited bank — a bank that her husband had a $175,000 financial investment in and formerly served on its board of directors.
"We did not receive and my husband did not receive any benefit from any of this," Waters told me.
The investigation alleged that Waters’ chief of staff, Mikael Moore –who is also her grandson –was "actively involved" in writing the legislation authorizing the Treasury Department to give TARP funds to OneUnited.
Waters said "that is absolutely not true."
"If you take a look at the allegations you see that they cannot identify anything that [Moore] actually did," Waters told me. "Did he call somebody? Did he write a letter? Did he ask me to do anything? They have not been able to verify what it is he supposedly did."
I questioned Waters about Moore’s email to a staffer for the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Barney Frank, that read “OU [OneUnited] is in trouble.”
“So what does that mean,” she asked.
“It is more staff chatter than anything else. It does not identify that he took any action,” Waters said.
And as for the allegations that OneUnited would have failed if it had not received TARP money – Waters said "that has nothing to do with my case."
“Maybe they would have failed, I don’t know. But the fact of the matter is they had private capital and they would not have failed if they had not gotten any TARP money because they had gotten the money from the private market,” she said.
Watch the interview here:
Obama: 'Now Is the Time For Common Sense Action' 
Romney Takes Aim at Conservatives
Keep fighting… and bring your whole party down with you!
Posted by: CBA | August 20, 2010, 10:52 am 10:52 am
It’s George Bush’s FAULT!! LOLOL
Posted by: TXmom | August 20, 2010, 11:06 am 11:06 am
they may have not gained profit “net-wise”, but gained substantially
by not letting the stocks become worthless….
Posted by: sdi | August 20, 2010, 12:06 pm 12:06 pm
Maxine – First rule of ethics is if it looks like you are possibly making a mistake, back away from it and have absolutly no involvment. Because you got involved no matter what the outcome you have violated the ethics rule. Now back your bag and go west.
Posted by: Sandcrab99337 | August 20, 2010, 4:10 pm 4:10 pm
Time to go, Ms. Waters.
Posted by: Watney | August 20, 2010, 6:52 pm 6:52 pm
LOL, Strange when I NEVER heard Maxy complain about the ethics commitee process when a Republican was the target of its investigations.
["If you take a look at the allegations you see that they cannot identify anything that [Moore] actually did,” Waters told me. “Did he call somebody? Did he write a letter? Did he ask me to do anything? They have not been able to verify what it is he supposedly did.”]
How would SHE know if he was involved in what ended up in that bill? There is no way she ever could have actually READ the foolish thing before she voted on it! She NEVER knew what was it to begin with!
Posted by: Mike_C | August 20, 2010, 7:17 pm 7:17 pm
[I questioned Waters about Moore’s email to a staffer for the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Barney Frank, that read “OU [OneUnited] is in trouble.”
“So what does that mean,” she asked.
“It is more staff chatter than anything else. It does not identify that he took any action,” Waters said.]
Gee Maxine, would you EVER, EVER accept that explanation from anyone on the other side of the aisle? EVER???
Sounds like you want the American people to play stupid once again, Why would staff chatter be sent to Barney FranK? Please, you are a sorry excuse for a representative and it is indeed time for you go look for work as a commentator on Keith Olberman’s daily waste of 60 minutes.
Posted by: Mike_C | August 20, 2010, 7:27 pm 7:27 pm
Gee,
Didn’t she want to take over the oil companies too??
Posted by: Harvey S | August 21, 2010, 11:36 am 11:36 am
I think your interview was horrible with the Congress woman.You asked a question when you should have known it wasn’t time for her tto answer.
i hate your interviews with anyone, you are whiney and pitifal. i hate GMA since you have been on it,sucking up to the crazy Right-wing. Short, I guess it’s a short person thing,and you did stab Clintion in the back…Bring back anyone…You are horrible!
Posted by: swileyes | August 21, 2010, 3:05 pm 3:05 pm
swileyes,
What question is there that she cannot answer? If she is indeed as innocent as she proclaims, there should be NO question she should avoid or evade.
Posted by: Mike_C | August 21, 2010, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
“If you take a look at the allegations you see that they cannot identify anything that [Moore] actually did,” Waters told me. “Did he call somebody? Did he write a letter? Did he ask me to do anything? They have not been able to verify what it is he supposedly did.” In other words, prove it!
Posted by: LongT | August 21, 2010, 7:36 pm 7:36 pm
Proving that Pelosi’s House, runs non-partisan ethics procedures. They will charge their own if warranted, even right before midterms.
Sorry, but this is a selling point for Dems in October, not a negative. The public is not shocked to see corrupt politicians, they just don’t want them to get away with it.
Also, Maxine’s case looks weak…
Posted by: Mike W | August 21, 2010, 8:55 pm 8:55 pm
Maxine Waters is another one in a long line of the Democratic slime that is in Washington.Chris Dodd,Charlie Rangel,Barney Frank , Mel Watt and Nancy Pelosi,just to name a few. Kick the bums out,Democrats and Republicans who think they are above the law,have to go!They claim they are public servants.Public servants all feeding from the same tax trough.
Posted by: Johnny L | August 22, 2010, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
I’ve had the displeasure of being on various flights from Washington, D.C. to LAX with Maxine Waters. She’s such an egotistical, vacuous and acerbic nincompoop. Finally, on one Friday evening flight when everyone was extremely tired and exhausted at the end of a work week including the usually very accommodating US Airways flight crew, I simply couldn’t stomach Maxine’s shenanigans any longer and I told her eyeball-to-eyeball to sit down and shut-up and let the Captain get the bird off the ground. [She was going seemingly ballistic with a US Airways flight attendant because she was very dissatisfied with her seat assignment. (As if she had some special entitlement because she was a U.S. congresswoman.)] In no uncertain terms I told her if she didn’t shut-up I was personally going to put her outside the cabin and strap her to the wing! Fortunately, Maxine retreated quietly because in retrospect I guess I was having my own “Network” moment. She’s one of the sorriest excuses for a congresswoman I’ve ever met/encountered.
Ps. Maxine should get on a plane, sit her down, shut the up, and everyone’s happy. It’s a method of public transportation, NOT her five-star restaurant/hotel and certainly not her very-own CASTLE. True, they’re occasionally surly flight attendants, [There are surly employees in any profession] but they’re not our servants. The people in Congress just don’t seem to get it that they work for us and not vice versa!!!
Posted by: Fred Harden III | August 23, 2010, 5:05 pm 5:05 pm
Our congressmen claim that they are public servants. Every time that they are caught in some questionable activity, I think of the old saw, “The butler didi it”.
Posted by: Bill Grimes-Wyatt | August 23, 2010, 6:34 pm 6:34 pm
What goes around comes around.
Posted by: Theodore (Ted) Sumrall | August 24, 2010, 12:23 am 12:23 am
She’s toast.
Posted by: Delores | August 25, 2010, 1:05 am 1:05 am
she is NOT telling the truth
Posted by: DAMOPARMAN | August 25, 2010, 9:49 pm 9:49 pm
there was no tarp at the time but her and barney frank did know it was in the works being she and him are on the financial subcommity her bank was first in line wheather they needed it or not
Posted by: DAMOPARMAN | August 25, 2010, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm
What angers me the most is the republicans attack Maxine Waters when there has been no actual charges just allorgations and yet they allow Mr.Rick Scott who has been charged by the FBI and fined 1.7 billion dollars for frauding medicare in the millions of dollars and they have the papers to prove it. Where are their standards here?
Posted by: talmag | August 26, 2010, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm
Proving that Pelosi’s House, runs non-partisan ethics procedures. They will charge their own if warranted, even right before mid-terms.
Posted by: Mike W | August 26, 2010, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
The crook needs to resign,just like the Odums team of crooks
Posted by: flaguyxx | August 27, 2010, 9:44 am 9:44 am
Sad, isn’t it, that they never LEARN. It almost doesn’t matter whether she did anything improper or unethical. A lot of people now think she did.
Posted by: james mckinnon | August 27, 2010, 4:07 pm 4:07 pm
She is a crook….power corrupts and it doesn’t matter who you are
Posted by: Nathan | August 31, 2010, 7:33 am 7:33 am
Just keep DRAINING that swamp!! :)
Posted by: James Boggs | September 2, 2010, 3:38 pm 3:38 pm