Democrats Afraid Of Bringing Maxine Waters To Justice

Democrat Zoe Lofgren has labored hard to sabotage Waters' ethics trial.

Last month, Lofgren tried to fire two investigators, and she told others that they had misled her about the probe. But the firings were blocked by Bonner, and the employees remain on paid leave. 

The events at issue involved players at the Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the House Financial Services Committee. The committee is headed by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who has acknowledged helping to write legislation that enabled OneUnited to qualify for a $12 million federal bailout. 

Lofgren had been pushing for the Waters trial to start in mid-September but staff investigators said that was "impossible," internale-mails show. Then, in September, after asking the staff for an update on its preparations, Lofgren became concerned that it was not ready and urged putting off the trial. Lofgren and Chisam learned that investigators were missing important e-mails from Waters's chief of staff and hoped to request or subpoena them. 

At a Sept. 16 meeting, however, investigators told her that they were fully prepared to "begin a hearing immediately," according to sources and a staff e-mail. Staff members complained that Lofgren and Chisam had obstructed their probe.