The Committee alleges that Waters’ and her chief of staff’s involvement with OneUnited Bank violated conflict of interest rules. Chief of Staff Mikael Moore is also her grandson.
Waters wants the Committee to hold a public trial so that she can “show [her] constituents and the American public that the accusations against [her] are frivolous and unfounded.”
Waters wants the trial to be held before Election Day, which is 83 days away.
During an appearance on the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s radio show, “Keep Hope Alive,” Waters said she wants an opportunity to lay out the facts:
I’m not going to be anybody’s sacrificial lamb…I’m supposed to be scared. Negative, positive, it doesn’t matter to me…The press can say what it wants to say. I have the facts. In a public hearing, I will bring out the facts and I will win.
Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, believes the charges against Waters are designed to “constrain advocacy for African American interests”:
Rep. Waters is a powerful advocate for economic interests. They’re trying to constrain this voice.
Arnwine told Waters:
When you strike a woman, you strike a rock. We’re going to stand with you.
In an interview with TheGrio.com, Waters talked about the impact of two possible ethics trials on the midterm elections:
The Democrats don’t benefit from this this close to the election. It puts them on the defensive. Even if you argue that it seems that the ethics investigation process is working, the Democrats having to defend the process at this time doesn’t help the party. It’s hurtful because it gives the Republicans a chance to say, “See the Democrats have all those problems over there.” I don’t know if they’ll do that because they’re a lot of Republicans that have been investigated. But there’s nothing positive in this for the Democrats.
But Waters refuses to be a poster child for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s promise to “drain the swamp.”
Waters vowed:
Before that happens to me, I’ll bring down the whole ecological system.
