The Hill News

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) backed efforts to force ethics trials for two senior Democratic lawmakers before November's elections.

Boehner defended Republican members of the House ethics panel, who took the unusual step of publicly releasing a statement demanding trials for Reps. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) before pivotal midterm elections.

"These members deserve an opportunity to lay their facts on the table," Boehner said at his weekly press conference. "Why this is not happening is beyond me, and I think it's appropriate for our members to do what they have done."

Waters and Rangel face charges on separate ethics charges, and both lawmakers have demanded trials. But with lawmakers wrapping up legis! lative activity this week before heading back to their districts for campaign season, it seems unlikely that the trials will take place before the election.

The GOP members of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, led by Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the ranking member, made waves by releasing a rare statement demanding the trials. Members of the panel typically stay silent about the committee's sensitive work, and try to work together in a bipartisan fashion.

That the committee Republicans would have to "resort to sending a letter to the chairman indicates that all is not well," Boehner said.

Republicans believe that if a public ethics trial for Rangel or Waters were to play out, it would underscore some of the troubles Democrats have had on ethical issues after winning back the House in 2006, in part over promises to clean up official conduct.

Democrats have said that the trials for Rangel and Waters are an exampl! e of the process working better than it has in the past.