California U.S. Senator and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters in July 2010

You remember the FLAP in which Los Angeles area Congresswoman has been caught in an ethically dubious pay to play scheme regarding her daughter’s campaign/slate mailer company.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, has paid some $30,000 since 2004 for the endorsement of embattled Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) in the context of a scheme that critics charge is unethical and amounts to Waters using her political station to benefit her family members.According to the Washington Times, Waters “has turned political endorsements into a family business, using federal election laws to charge California candidates and political causes to include their names as her personal picks on a sample ballot, or ‘slate mailer,’ she sends to as many as 200,000 South Central Los Angeles voters.”

The slate mailer business, it turns out, is run by Waters’ daughter, Karen, via her public relations firm.  Records show that Karen Waters’ firm has been paid more than $350,000 since 2004, and has billed a further $82,000 since California’s June primary, for its services in this regard.

Now, Citizens for Waters – 555 S Flower St Ste 4510 Los Angeles, California 900712420 has refunded monies ($1,217.35) back to Friends of Barbara Boxer.

Why?

Could it possibly be because of Maxine Water’s upcoming ethics trial in the House?

A congressional panel set the stage Monday for an ethics trial for Rep. Maxine Waters, one of Los Angeles’ most enduring liberal politicians, over her actions involving a bank with ties to her husband that received federal bailout funds.

Without detailing the accusations, the House Ethics Committee released an investigative report that found “substantial reason” to believe that Waters may have violated ethics rules. The case centers on a meeting Waters set up in September 2008, during the financial crisis, between Treasury Department officials and representatives of minority-owned banks.

Or, Cleaning up the ol’ sleaze Maxine?

You’re probably familiar with Rep. Maxine Waters, the California Democrat who’s under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations that she used her position in Congress to ensure the U.S. Treasury Department would help out a bank where her husband was a stockholder and former director.

What you probably didn’t know is that Boxer has been sending large amounts of cash to Waters’s daughter for the past two cycles, and in exchange, Waters has been featuring Boxer prominently on her “slate mailer,” a sample ballot used by many voters in Waters’s South Central district.

In 2004, Boxer paid Rep. Waters’s daughter, Karen Waters, $25,000 to ensure her spot on the mailer; on June 2, Boxer’s campaign sent “Citizens for Waters” $5,000.

Back in December 2004, Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told the Los Angeles Times, “It looks like congresswoman Waters is using her position to financially benefit her family members, and that is at the very least unethical. . . . You shouldn’t be making money off your mother’s endorsements.” Of course, by that point, Boxer and Waters had been reelected and it was too late for California voters to hold either accountable.

Or, afraid that without dotting I’s and crossing T’s will result in EVEN more fall out to Senator Boxer’s pay-off schemes with you and your family (in return for your endorsement and help in the Los Angeles African-American community) prior to the election on November 2nd.

Maxine and Barbara you can run but you can’t hide. By the way, as of today, Rep. Maxine Water’s name continues on Senator Barbara Boxer’s endorsement page – see it here.

Exit question: Will Boxer’s name appear on Waters’ slate mailer in respect to the November general election?