Waters & Rangel

AP sources: 3 charges filed against Rep. Waters

Play Video FOX News  – Waters Wants a Trial

• Slideshow:Rep. Maxine Waters

AP – FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2009 file photo, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. …

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer Larry Margasak, Associated Press Writer – 16 mins ago

WASHINGTON – California Democrat Maxine Waters faces a House trial this fall on three charges of ethical wrongdoing, setting the stage for a second election-season public airing of ethics problems for a longtime Democratic lawmaker.

The charges focus on whether Waters broke the rules in requesting federal help for a bank where her husband owned stock and had served on the board of directors. She denied the charges Monday.

Persons familiar with the case said Waters is accused of violating:

_A rule that House members may not exert improper influence that results in a personal benefit.

_The government employees' ethics code, which prohibits granting or accepting special favors, for the employee or family members, that could be viewed as influencing official actions.

_A rule that members' conduct must reflect creditably on the House.

The persons were not authorized to be quoted by name on allegations not yet made public.

The House ethics committee's announcement comes just days after it outlined 13 charges against Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., including failing to disclose assets and income, delayed payment of federal taxes and improper use of a subsidized New York apartment for his campaign office.

Rangel, the former House Ways and Means Committee chairman who has served for 40 years, faces a trial in the fall.

Democrats face certain losses in the congressional elections, the first midterms for President Barack Obama, and the high-profile trials could further damage the party's political standing.

Arizona Sheriff: ‘Our Own Government Has Become Our Enemy’
Monday, August 02, 2010
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff Paul Babeu

(Correction: As initially posted, this story inaccurately said that Pinal County was contiguous with the Mexican border. It is in southern Arizona, but not on the border.)

(CNSNews.com) – Pinal County (Ariz.)
Sheriff Paul Babeu is hopping mad at the federal government.

Babeu told CNSNews.com that rather than help law enforcement in Arizona stop the hundreds of thousands of people who come into the United States illegally, the federal government is targeting the state and its law enforcement personnel.

“What’s very troubling is the fact that at a time when we in law enforcement and our state need help from the federal government, instead of sending help they put up billboard-size signs warning our citizens to stay out of the desert in my county because of dangerous drug and human smuggling and weapons and bandits and all these other things and then, behind that, they drag us into court with the ACLU,” Babeu said.

Mexican Drug Cartel Allegedly Puts a Price on Arizona Sheriff's Head

$1M offered for Arpaio, $1K to join cartel