Waters calls for dismissal of ethics probe

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WASHINGTON, July 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., has accused the House Ethics Committee of violating her constitutional rights in its investigation of her finances.

Waters' called on the panel to dismiss the long-running case against her, threatening to take the matter to the House floor, Politico reported.

The Ethics Committee has been looking into charges Waters improperly used her office to aid a minority-owned bank where her husband held more than $350,000 in stock.

Stan Brand, Waters' attorney, said in a statement a Politico story and accompanying documents posted Monday "leave no doubt that the House Ethics Committee violated both its own rules and Representative Waters' constitutional rights during its investigation."

Monday's story, which included internal e-mails, memos and documents from the panel, revealed bitter internal disputes on the panel.

The former staff director and chief counsel for the Ethics Committee accused the two lead investigators of secretly feeding information to Republicans on the panel.

Blake Chisam also accused the two staffers of misleading lawmakers and other staff on the status of the Waters investigation.

The Ethics Committee was expected to meet on the Waters case this week.