“Mad Maxine” Waters To Head House Financial Services Committee After Franks Retires

The Intertoobs are abwaze wiff the news that emerged fwom the Commonwealth of Massachusetts today as we wearned that Bawney Fwank will not wun for we-ewection in 2012.

He claims that gerrymandering his congressional district played a role in his decision, but I’m not so sure.

On August 13, 2009, Judicial Watch launched an investigation into a $12 million TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) cash injection provided to the Boston-based OneUnited Bank at the urging of Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank.

Slate reveals the nature of Judicial Watch’s concerns from an email it obtained:

“That isn't quite the end of the story, because OneUnited needed not just the ability to get money, but the money itself. To do this, it needed leniency from the FDIC. On Oct. 17 King Mueller, deputy assistant secretary for banking and finance, wrote to others at Treasury that he had just spoken to an aide in Frank's office. "This is about One United Bank. … Maxine Waters is interested in the bank as well. … [Frank] is interested and may call [Paulson] again about this. … FDIC [has] … gotten similar interest from [Frank's] staff. The bank is worried about call report data that goes public on Oct 30th, concerned it could lead to a run if they don't have a [capitalization] plan in place by then. Obviously want to use TARP and likely will request much more than is set out in the term sheet—[Frank] will point to the Considerations language (Sec 103, subsection 6). …"   A few days later, Treasury's Mueller wrote again: "I got another call from BF's office about this. They continue to express concern about the Oct. 30th date. …"

Congresswoman Maxine Waters was caught helping arrange a taxpayer bailout for a bank where her husband was a former board member and had a significant financial interest.

An ethics hearing for Waters was to have taken place on November 29, 2010 but was indefinitely postponed due to the discovery of new documents connected to the charges.  A report from outside counsel on the matter is due January 2, 2012.

Waters is next in line to head the House Financial Services Committee and her allies are vowing “Armageddon” if her seniority does not land her the top slot. She is next in line after Frank on the panel but faces a potential challenge from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

It’s an easy leap to make that if Waters does ascend to the chair of the committee that the issue of the $12 million dollar TARP funds for OneUnited Bank, Frank’s direct involvement in the cash infusion and Waters’ ethics charges would, somehow, magically be swept under the rug.

Corruption begets corruption.  Let’s hope Judicial Watch is successful in prosecuting its case against Frank and thereby creeks “Mad Maxine” in the process.

Via Memeorandum