Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is not going down without a fight.

Tried and convicted in the court of public opinion for cronyism, nepotism, and alleged ethical violations, Rep. Waters is proving that she is no Charlie Rangel (D-NY). Whereas he blustered and preached his way to being censured by the House of Representatives after being found guilty of 11 ethics violations -- only the 23rd representative to receive the political punishment -- Waters is going on the offensive.

Rep. Waters is fighting three ethics charges stemming from a Fall 2008 meeting she helped set up between Treasury officials and OneUnited Bank. The bank ended up receiving $12 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds. Waters's husband owns hundreds of thousands of dollars in OneUnited stock and previously served on its board.

Waters argued she was acting on behalf of minority-owned banks as a whole, not just OneUnited. She claims the ethics panel has repeatedly failed to show that she influenced anyone or gained any benefit for her actions.

On Tuesday, she revealed plans to offer a privileged resolution on the House floor that would direct Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to appoint a bipartisan task force to investigate the ethics committee's decision to suspend two attorneys on the panel's case against her the same day the panel announced an indefinite delay of her public trial.

While Capitol Hill waited anxiously to see how this gutsy moved played out, Rep. Waters changed tactics, and placed the ball back into the already flustered Ethics Committee's court:

"Upon the advice of my colleagues whom I trust and admire, I am not pushing for a vote on this resolution today," Waters announced on the House floor this afternoon. "In doing so, however, I am requesting that the Committee set the record straight, on its own accord, in a bipartisan manner, with a joint statement signed by the Chair and Ranking Member, [the] circumstances of the events that led to the discipline of the two attorneys leading the case against me."

In the resolution, Waters accused the ethics committee of violating her due-process rights and the rules of the committee by delaying her trial, originally scheduled for November 29.

In a courageous and risky move, Waters contends that the firing of the two attorneys "has subjected the committee to public ridicule, produced contempt for the ethics process, created the public perception that the committee's purpose was to unjustly impugn the integrity of a member of the House and weakened the ability of the committee to properly conduct its investigative duties, all of which has brought discredit to the House."



Ethics committee chief counsel and staff director Blake Chisam wanted to fire Morgan Kim, the committee's deputy chief counsel, and Stacy Sovereign, another ethics lawyer, on November 19, but was barred from doing so under panel rules. Instead, they were placed on indefinite leave.

Kim was the lead attorney in the Waters trial, which the committee said was delayed because the panel had decided to reopen the investigation after receiving new evidence. It is unclear whether that evidence helps or hurts Waters's case.

"Rep. Waters has every reason to be suspicious," said Public Citizens' Craig Holman. "The timing of the firings came at the same time of the delay of the trial itself and immediately raises questions about prosecutorial misconduct. If the suspensions are somehow related to the Waters investigation, it clearly undermines the case against her."

If Water's proposed resolution had passed, the task force would have submitted recommendations "to restore public confidence in the ethics process, including disciplining both staff and members where needed," according to a draft copy. The task force also would have reported its findings and recommendations to the House next year.

Representative Waters has never been afraid to stand alone among her congressional colleagues.

A ten-term congresswoman, and one of the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus, she has been a vocal civil rights advocate, and unafraid to use her position to shine the light on the racism prevalent in the Beltway, calling her colleagues to task for their prejudicial policy decisions:

"Policy, for the most part, has been made by white people in America, not by people of color. And they have tended to take care of those things that they think are important. Whether it's their agricultural subsidies, or other kinds of expenditures that are certainly not expenditures for poor people or for people of color. And so we have to band together and keep fighting back."

Rep. Waters' approval rate is consistently low among white voters in California, hovering around 54 percent, while African-American voters remain solidly in her corner, with 52 percent of black voters viewing her favorably.

Her voting record reflects her dedication to the equal rights of gay citizens in all components of life, from marriage to adoption, eradicating educational disparities, and increasing stem cell research.

In short, she is a force to be reckoned with. Her actions are a reflection of her convictions, and unlike our president, she refuses to exchange her principles for political capital.

Rep. Waters is a woman who has consistently stood up for the less fortunate, marginalized, and oppressed in this country. Her sense of equality knows no color, and there should be more in Congress like her.

What could she have possibly gained from assisting a floundering bank, in desperate need of governmental assistance?

Should OneUnited Bank have been penalized for having a business relationship with Rep. Waters' husband?

With bank and Wall Street executives bonuses climbing again, and the wealthiest Americans being allowed to keep their ill gotten tax cuts; with former congressman Ted Stevens (R-AL) receiving a slap on the wrist for his alleged ethical offenses, and former President Bush brazenly manufacturing two wars; with Republicans refusing to assist struggling senior citizens and Tea Party candidates questioning the constitutionality of forcing businesses to integrate, the one thing that has the Ethics Committee in a uproar is one strong, African-American woman assisting minority banks desperately in need of funds to ensure their survival.

Not only does Rep. Waters deserve to be fully exonerated, she deserves an apology. So, Ethics Committee, to quote the fearless congresswoman from California:

"I dare you to be fair."