On Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee tasked Billy Martin, of the law firm Dorsey and Whitney, with oversight of their corruption investigation of Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.). Officially, Martin will “review, advise and assist the committee in completing the matter of Representative Maxine Waters.”
Waters is under investigation for setting up meetings in 2008 between the U.S. Treasury Department and OneUnited, a bank with deep financial ties to both Waters and her husband. OneUnited, which had invested heavily in Fannie and Freddie and was hit hard by the financial crisis, went on to receive $12 million from TARP.
Martin will also look at whether the Ethics Committee has handled the case properly. The move comes on the heels of reports that committee investigators may have improperly shared information with Republicans. Waters has repeatedly called on the Ethics Committee to drop the case, claiming she cannot receive a fair hearing and threatening legal action.