Waters ethics hearing delayed

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The ethics trial of Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., will be delayed because of the discovery of new evidence, the House ethics committee said Friday.

"The committee voted to recommit the matter regarding Rep. Maxine Waters to the investigative subcommittee due to matters discovered that may have had an effect on the investigative subcommittee's transmittal to the committee," Standards of Official Conduct Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and ranking Republican member Jo Bonner, R-Ala., said in a statement. "As a result, the adjudicatory subcommittee no longer has jurisdiction over this matter and the adjudicatory hearing previously scheduled for (Nov. 29, 2010) will not be held."

Waters, a member of the Financial Services Committee, is accused of using her position to coordinate a meeting between Treasury Department officials and the National Bankers Association about OneUnited Bank. At the time, Waters' husband was a major shareholder in the bank and once served on the financial institution's board of directors.

The ethics panel had said it hoped to conclude the Waters trial during the lame-duck congressional session. The announcement about the delay came a day after the committee recommended the House censure Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., for committing 11 violations of House ethics rules.