[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 27 (Friday, February 17, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H927-H928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1140
         RELATING TO THE MATTER OF REPRESENTATIVE MAXINE WATERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following 
communication from the chair of the Committee on Ethics:

                                         House of Representatives,


                                          Committee on Ethics,

                                                February 17, 2012.
     Hon. John Boehner,
     Speaker of the House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(5) 
     and Committee Rule 9(e), and with the unanimous approval of 
     the Committee on Ethics (Committee), I am writing to request 
     the appointment of six substitute Members, necessitated by 
     voluntary recusals, to serve for any Committee proceeding 
     related to the Matter of Representative Maxine Waters (the 
     matter) currently before this Committee.


                           Timing of Recusal

       Prior to the end of the 111th Congress, the bipartisan 
     leadership of the Committee/each recognized the need to hire 
     outside counsel to complete this matter. On July 20, 2011, 
     the Committee announced that it voted unanimously to hire 
     Attorney Billy Martin as outside counsel to review, advise 
     and assist the Committee in completing the matter.
       A key phase of Mr. Martin's assistance is to review 
     allegations that this Committee violated due process rights 
     or rules attaching to Representative Waters. In addition, Mr. 
     Martin was asked to address whether recusal of any Members of 
     the Committee should be considered and when would be the most 
     appropriate time for his recommendations regarding recusal.
       Mr. Martin has informed the Committee that he has reviewed 
     tens of thousands of pages of documents, and has interviewed 
     current and former Committee Members as well as current and 
     former Committee staff. Each current and former Committee 
     Member and current employee, who was requested for interview, 
     fully cooperated with Mr. Martin.
       However, Mr. Martin has advised that one necessary witness 
     has refused to appear voluntarily and, when subpoenaed to 
     testify, communicated to the Committee that the witness would 
     refuse to answer questions on the basis of the witness's 
     Fifth Amendment privilege.
       The witness's refusal to answer questions prevents the 
     completion of the due process review. While Mr. Martin had 
     advised that the most appropriate time to present his 
     recommendations regarding recusal would be upon the 
     completion of his due process review, he has now counseled 
     the Committee to advance that timing and consider the recusal 
     recommendations prior to considering the witness's refusal to 
     testify.
       As the Committee must now determine its next steps in this 
     matter, Mr. Martin has recommended that the leadership of the 
     current Committee/and four Members who

[[Page H928]]

     served on the Committee in the 111th Congress consider 
     recusal from further proceedings in this matter. After 
     careful consideration, these six Committee Members have 
     requested their voluntary recusal.


                          Reasons for Recusal

       Mr. Speaker, the record should note that these recusal 
     requests are not based on any indication of any wrongdoing/or 
     inappropriate partisanship by the Members. In fact, Mr. 
     Martin has advised the Committee that, to date:
       1. He has not discovered any evidence to indicate actual 
     bias or partiality by any current Member or staff of the 
     Committee;
       2. He has not discovered any evidence that should cause a 
     mandatory recusal of any current Member or staff of the 
     Committee; and
       3. There is no conflict which would require the 
     disqualification or recusal of any current Member or staff of 
     the Committee.
       Instead, these recusal requests come from Members of the 
     Committee/Who voluntarily cooperated with Mr. Martin's 
     review, voluntarily appeared for interviews with Mr. Martin, 
     and voluntarily produced a voluminous number of documents in 
     their possession. The Members requested recusal because:
       1. They believe that, out of an abundance of caution and to 
     avoid even an appearance of unfairness, their voluntary 
     recusal will eliminate the possibility of questions being 
     raised as to the partiality or bias of Committee Members 
     considering this matter;
       2. They want to assure the public, the House, and 
     Representative Waters that this investigation is continuing 
     in a fair and unbiased manner; and
       3. They want to move this matter forward in a manner that 
     supports the greatest public confidence in the ultimate 
     conclusions of the Committee.
       Both the Committee and Mr. Martin recognize that recusal is 
     an extremely rare occurrence and should not be sought without 
     careful consideration by the Members. While the Members 
     believe that they each can render an impartial and unbiased 
     decision in any proceeding related to this matter, the 
     Committee takes this extraordinary measure--in this unique 
     circumstance--to further the best interests of the House and 
     to permit this matter to be brought to a conclusion.


                    Voluntary Recusal of Six Members

       Therefore, Members of the Committee who have requested 
     recusal are: Representative Jo Bonner, Representative Linda 
     T. Sanchez, Representative Michael T. McCaul, Representative 
     K. Michael Conaway, Representative Charles W. Dent, and 
     Representative Gregg Harper. The Committee has unanimously 
     accepted and approved these requests.
       Furthermore, outside counsel has discovered no evidence 
     indicating bias or partiality on the part of former Members 
     or requiring the exclusion of any former Members of the 
     Committee from serving as substitute Members. However, out of 
     an abundance of caution and for the same reasons as the 
     current Members volunteering their recusal, Mr. Martin has 
     recommended that no Member who served on the Committee in the 
     111th Congress should serve as a substitute Member in this 
     matter. In addition, for the same reasons, no current 
     Committee staff who had previously worked on the matter will 
     be involved in further proceedings in the matter.
       The Committee has taken these steps, pursuant to House Rule 
     XI, clause 3(b)(5) and Committee Rule 9(e). Accordingly, I 
     request that six substitute Members of the Committee be 
     appointed. These substitute Members will serve the Committee 
     only for the purpose of bringing the Matter of Representative 
     Waters to a fair and just conclusion. The service of the 
     substitute Members will end with the conclusion of the Matter 
     of Representative Waters. I shall remain Chairman of the 
     Committee, Representative Sanchez shall remain the Ranking 
     Member, and all other recused Members will continue to serve 
     on the Committee for all other purposes.
           Sincerely,
                                                        Jo Bonner,
                                                         Chairman.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 3(b)(5) of rule XI, the 
Chair announces the Speaker's designation of the following Members to 
act in any proceeding of the Committee on Ethics relating to the Matter 
of Representative Maxine Waters:
  Mr. Goodlatte
  Mr. LaTourette
  Mr. Simpson
  Mrs. Capito
  Mr. Griffin of Arkansas
  Mr. Sarbanes

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