Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) over her recent speech that encouraged the harassment of Trump administration officials in public.
In a hand-delivered letter to the chairman and co-chairman of the House Office of Congressional Ethics, Judicial Watch asked for an investigation into whether the California Democrat “violated House ethics rules by encouraging violence against Trump administration Cabinet members.”
Last month, Waters told a crowd: “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them! And you tell them that they are not welcome, anymore, anywhere.”
In encouraging individuals to create “crowds” who will “push back” on President Trump’s Cabinet members at private business establishments and in seemingly trying to prevent these Cabinet officials from obtaining basic necessities without fear of assault and violence, Rep. Waters seems to be violation of House rules, specifically:
A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House. [House Rule 23, clause 1.]
We hereby request that the Office of Congressional Ethics conduct a preliminary investigation into whether Rep. Maxine Waters violated House Rules in encouraging attacks on Cabinet officials. (Judicial Watch)
The move comes after several Trump administration officials have been harassed in public, including White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, among others.
“Waters’ incitement for violence, assault and riot sets a dangerous precedent, and the House should act swiftly to disavow her,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “Given the grave risk to the public safety and the rule of law caused by Waters’ remarks, expulsion from the House should be on the table.”
