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September 22, 2006
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters Makes “Top 20 Most Corrupt” List
California’s Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) has made the D.C. based watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) “20 Most Corrupt Members in Congress" list….again.
An eight-term Democrat representing 35th District communities which includes South Los Angeles, Waters is believed to have exercised power in Congress "to financially benefit her daughter, husband and son."
"Rep. Waters' family members have used her name and connections to make lucrative commercial deals from which they have reaped personal financial gain in violation of House rules," CREW said.
Waters' daughter, Karen Waters, allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars by charging for spots on slate mailers issued by a nonprofit organization that sends sample ballots to voters, according to CREW. Rep. Waters’ husband, Sidney Williams, also earned hundreds of thousands of dollars by working as a consultant for a bond underwriting firm that seeks government investment, CREW said.
Waters' son, Edward, also benefited from her political connections involving a county lease to run a golf course in South Los Angeles, according to CREW.
To be fair, Waters is in the company of California's very own Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside; Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville; Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands; Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar; and Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy.
An August 2006 Harris poll shows that 77% of Americans have a negative view of Congress and a May 2006 Gallup poll indicates that 83% of Americans consider corruption a serious issue.
Other Blacks on the list include Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana.
Of the 20 “most corrupt,” two are Black, three are Democrats, and 17 are Republicans, including Federal Marriage Amendment supporters Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania and Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colorado.
Posted by Jasmyne at September 22, 2006 04:42 AM
