I got my eyes blackened by all the Republican bashing when I went to snopes to read about Pelousi, so alas, I couldn’t.
When Rep Maxine Waters (D-Cali), called then-Treasury Secy Henry M. Paulson Jr. in late 2008 to ask him to host a special meeting that would feature a California bank executive she knew well, was the request on behalf of a trade association, or a bank in which her husband owned stock? That question will be among those raised at an ethics trial expected to unfold this fall, House officials predicted, after Ms. Waters became the second House member to indicate last week that she would challenge an allegation of violating House ethics rules.
The specific charges to be filed against Ms. Waters have not been made public. But House officials confirmed that the case involved communications Ms. Waters had in fall 2008 with federal officials that at least indirectly touched on the fate of OneUnited, a Boston-based bank with branches in Massachusetts, Florida and California. At the time of Ms. Waters’s phone calls, her husband, Sidney Williams, had recently resigned as a board member of OneUnited but still owned stock in it.
OneUnited, like many banks at the time, was in a desperate position after losing $50 million worth of stock it had held in the housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, following their federal takeover.
Ms. Waters’s lawyers have argued that her appeals to the Treasury Dept were on behalf of the National Bankers Association, a decades-old industry group that represents dozens of banks owned by minorities and women. The association’s membership includes OneUnited, and the bank’s top executive, Robert P. Cooper, was then the chairman-elect of the group. (Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com
===========================================
ANALYSIS----CONG WATERS AND HUSBAND HAVE TIES TO BANK THAT RECEIVED FEDERAL BAILOUT FUNDS---M/M Waters oen stock in bank; he is bank board member. Authorities need to determine whether Mr Waters colluded to engage in money-laundering activities which may have involved (1) violating state and federal RICO statutes; (2) securities fraud, (3) mail fraud (4) electronic fraud, (5) corporate theft (6) failing to report wrongdoing (7) breach of fiduciary duty (8) running a non-profit as an illegal racketeering enterprise, (9) accounting fraud, (10) using and creating slush funds.
ACTION NEEDED An external audit might uncover millions missing through government fraud.
Investigators might find that charges could be filed, into embezzlement schemes. Prosecutors might use RICO as a lever to pry open the massive cover-up of government corruption that is available through “discovery” within the named entities. The RICO device might refresh the memories of recalcitrant wrongdoers, and might expose primary evidence.
L/E might prosecute individuals along with their co-conspirators, and subsets of them, on RICO charges, on grounds that they conspired to keep taxpayers from learning of the scope and dimension of government fraud, and schemes designed to cheat taxpayers.
Phony official financial reports may have hidden theft; bank accountants and bookkeepers may have been employed in order to keep thievery secret.
Taxpayers demand to know if the Waters' received money from banks and other financial institutions in the form of loans, bonuses, equity positions in business entities doing business with the bank. Investigations may find that others signed off on paperwork and financial forms prepared or verified as true by the Waters.
==============================================
ANALYSIS Did the Waters file false bank loan applications to take equity positions in companies doing business with his bank, then conspire to payoff the bank loans by rigging and inflating bids for government contracts, then paid off bank loans when the tax monies rolled in? In raids of the suspects' homes and offices, law enforcement might find evidence of the financial trail that linked government fraud and monies to personal payments for cars, trips, luxury items. The FBI should interrogate the Waters to determine if the bank received anything else of value ---such as political cover, and whether collusion to misuse Congessional influence was involved.
FBI TIP PAGE http://tips.fbi.gov/ (you may remain anonymous)
Tax returns also tell a tale, particularly entries for "interest payments."
IRS TOLL-FREE 1-800-829-0433 (you may remain anonymous when reporting tax fraud)
===================================
POSSIBLE CHARGES FACED BY CONG WATERS Official acts prohibited, misuse of Congressional funds, abuse of public office, violating oath of office, misuse of government position, abuse of government power; conflict of interest; influence buying; conspiracy to deceive; misuse of elective office, collusion, conspiracy to collude. Waters' official campaign finance records filed with the FEC, and state election commission, should be scrutinized for possible violations. Determine if names of Waters' contributors are legit and whether Waters illegally used campaign funds, and/or whether Waters received campaign contributions to influence Congressional votes. Waters may have colluded to give something of value, a govt gratuity, a job, etc, in exchange for getting govt monies to her husband.
This particular item is in sync with what I remember about the story at the time.
Instead of investigations just put a law into effect that every 2 years 40% of the congress goes to prison for four years and can't run for office again. More efficient.