Ethics probes of Waters, Richardson

The House ethics committee voted to go to full investigations of allegations against Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. Laura Richardson. "The votes on Waters and Richardson marked the first time that any referrals from the independent Office of Congressional Ethics had led to a full-blown investigation by the ethics committee," Politico notes.

Waters intervened with the Treasury Department last year on behalf of a minority owned bank, OneUnited, in which her husband owned stock. He also served on its board.

Richardson’s case revolves around her Sacramento home, which she purchased in 2006 but lost to foreclosure. The home was sold to a third party but later reacquired by Richardson. OCE looked into the foreclosure issue and whether neighbors who cleaned up Richardson’s yard made an improper gift to the congresswoman by mowing the lawn and gardening.

“Like 4.3 million Americans in the last year who faced financial problems because of a personal crisis like a divorce, death in the family, unexpected job and living changes and an erroneous property sale, all of which I have experienced in; the span of slightly over a year, I have worked to resolve a personal financial situation,” Richardson said in a statement.

“But unlike other Americans, I have been subjected to premature judgments, speculation and baseless distractions that will finally be addressed in a fair, unbiased, bi-partisan evaluation of the facts.”

Richardson has run into a heap of trouble when it comes to money and property, as readers will likely recall.